Last month we built a pond and I've been excited to tell you all about it!
When we first moved in to our house we took town a rotten, old, badly placed shed that was blocking the view and the remaining plot of land had been speaking to us. First it wanted to be our veg plot but when we didn't get round to making a raised bed it started asking to be a POND!
(note how much the Japanese Maple has grown in three years...it is now a TREE)
So we began!
We were going to edge it with the bricks that came out of our fireplace but as we started to dig we found a layer of old patio slabs and they seemed less tall, and therefore easier for the wildlife to climb out of so we used those instead.
We used an RSPB pond liner kit 3x3m which has this thick recycled fabric underlay to protect the liner from stones and sharp edges. I actually hoovered the fallen dirt from out of the bottom before we filled it up. It was funny hoovering in the garden.
Then we filled it up. We used tap water which means you have to let it sit for a few days before putting any plants or anything in so the chlorine can evaporate. Rain water would have been better but we would still be waiting for it to fill up so I'm glad we did.
Before it was officially ready for 'life' a water boatman decided to move in anyway. He had the place to himself and seemed delighted. He feasted on some unfortunate woodlice that had fallen in! We called him Walter Boatman (Wally for short) and are always happy to see him coming up for air.
The following weekend some plants went in.
We read that newts like water forget-me-not so we put some in to tempt them and we added some willow moss (we liked the name) and some other oxygenating plants. And of course it had to have a water lily.
We filled some of the cracks around the slabs with aquatic soil (it's special and doesn't have any added fertliser of anything which you need to avoid getting into the water) and added some sedums and added a layer of pebbles. I have enjoyed adding pebbles from my collection to this new landscape.
We created a 'shelf' at one edge about 15cm deep and I've created a kind of beach landing zone for birds to bathe or pond life to exit or bask.
And now we are obsessed. The pond is at the side of our house and isn't visible from any of our windows so we have to go out to sit by it if we want to see any of the goings on. It is so peaceful and soothing and is our new favourite place. As well as our water boatman we have had visiting mayflies, pond skaters and crane flies bouncing on the water and while my friend was cat sitting for us she saw a heron on our roof checking it out!
They were right. We built it and they are coming.
One day we watched a damselfly lay eggs on every leaf and lily pad right in front of our eyes.
It fells like the pond has been approved!
I wrote a post on Instagram about building our pond and it has gone a bit viral. So far the post has had 78,000 views! There have been loads of tales celebrating first frogs and newts and of bathing goldcrest sightings and busy birds as well as forewarnings that Wally the Boatman will eat all our frogspawn! Overall there is lots of agreement that building a pond is the best thing we can do for our garden and ourselves. It made me very excited about seeing our first amphibians.
I didn't have to wait long. At 6 am this very morning I went outside to get an early morning lung full of air and heard a splash!
WELCOME FROG!
How did they find it? How do they know? Word got around. I think they must have read my instagram post!
I'm so glad we have this new world on our doorstep now. I look forward to bringing you some more things I have noticed at the pond.
