Pond in garden

How to create a wildlife pond

For as long as I can remember there has been a pond in my garden. When I was a child it was a small brick-built, concrete lined structure which contained just one goldfish, and was next to an upturned tin dustbin lid for the birds to bathe in...

For the last 45 years I have always made a small pond in every new garden and have been amazed when frogs, toads and newts just arrived in early spring. Where I live now, 35 years ago my new pond attracted frogs in their hundreds. They came from up, down and across the road, up 17 steps to back garden level, under the gate and up the garden to the new pond. Sadly this is not the case now and maybe only 30 return every year as their numbers diminish along with many other species of our once common wildlife. The good news is that over the years the pond has attracted more newts and toads, which spend the year living in the garden and the winter hibernating in log piles and under stones. There are also blue damselflies and dragonflies in summer.

It is vitally important that we give these once common garden visitors all the help we can, and putting a pond in your garden is one of the very best ways to help a huge number of species, not only amphibians but invertebrates which in turn provide food for birds, bats and hedgehogs.

 

Wildlife pond basics

© Vaughn Matthews

The size and shape of your pond is not important to wildlife. Depth needs to be considered. Frogs prefer very shallow water around the edges of the pond with a lot of plants on the surface where they lay the spawn. 20-30 cm is an ideal depth. For toads and newts 30 – 60 cm is better. Newts will place each egg singly on a leaf (water forget-me-not is a perfect shape) then fold it over to protect the egg from predators. Toads will wind long strings of spawn around the stems of underwater plants.

A pond is just a watery garden. Plants will colonise naturally but it is helpful if you can put in suitable native plants to both oxygenate the water and provide food and shelter for invertebrate pond dwellers. This will also help to prevent algae like blanket weed from taking hold. A 30% clear water surface is sufficient to allow light to penetrate to deeper parts. Avoid adding invasive non-native plants.

Pond maintenance

All ponds need a bit of maintenance to keep them healthy. Thin out vigorous water plants in late winter leaving enough for amphibians to spawn on. Wash removed vegetation in a bucket of rainwater and tip the water back into the pond. Leave removed vegetation loosely near the edge of the water so creatures can escape back to the pond. Try not to remove anything between spring and late autumn to avoid disturbing all the creatures in the pond.

What to consider when adding a pond 

Small ponds, less than 30cm deep and 1 metre in diameter are easy to manage but may heat up too much in summer and eventually dry out. These seasonal ponds can be good for some species but many would die out.

Large ponds, more than 60cm deep and 3 metres in diameter will attract a greater range of species but maintenance can be more difficult if you cannot get to the middle. If safety is an issue it is more difficult to find suitable child-proof covers.

Aim for something that will help wildlife but not be difficult for you to manage.

Whatever the size or shape of the pond you decide to build it should have flat shelves. A shallow shelf around the edge, a middle depth shelf and a deeper section. A saucer shape, unless very large, will mean that silt and plants will all eventually end up in the middle.

Carefully constructed and well planted a garden pond will last for years and help a huge range of species to thrive, bringing enjoyment and a sense of achievement to everyone who welcomes wildlife into the garden.

© Judith Hathrill

For more information about wildlife ponds in your garden, join Judith and the Wild About Gardens team for our online workshop: How to build, plant and maintain a garden pond. 

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More about how to build a pond