Creating a small pond.

Having been discussing this topic elsewhere I thought I would start a new thread to avoid distraction. Thank you to @fairygirl and @CostasK for all your input so far .

I am planning to install a small pond to attract wildlife, using just plants and water, no pump or fish, so the equivalent of a container pond. I have ordered a small preformed pond (50 litre capacity) which I am planning to install in a border which gets sun until about 2pm in summer, then light shade. I know that there are other pond enthusiasts here and would welcome any thoughts on what to do, what not to do, good pond plant suppliers and any photos, other tips and advice.

I have two specific questions to start with, is it necessary to fill the pond with rainwater or will tap water allowed to stand for a few days before OK, and can a preformed pond be laid just on dug out soil without a layer of sand?

 

Hi @Plantminded, I did the same thing a year ago last May - I think my pond is a 50 litre too. I had some rainwater saved to fill it up with - just left buckets around and decanted them into a small plastic dustbin. I'm sure tapwater would be OK especially since there won't be any wildlife in it to be affected at the start - however if your current forecast is anything like mine you'll have no trouble getting enough rainwater.

I did use sand - it's supposed to make it easier to level. Having said that mine isn't perfectly level but never mind. I bought far too much sand - you shouldn't need more than a standard bag and I bought two.

I looked on eBay for pond plant suppliers and bought a mixed pack of 4, which were fine.

My pond is in dappled shade much of the time, and attracts a lot of hoverflies and signal flies. It was whilst watching the signal flies this summer than I spotted I had newts - they came up to the surface and gulped!

The big advantage of a tiny pond at this time of year is that it's easy to fish the leaves out.

 

Thank you @Escarpment, that’s very helpful. I thought it might be better to wait until spring but the soil’s easy to dig now and, as you say, there’s plenty of rain around at the moment . Did you try to disguise the edges with lots of pebbles etc? I was thinking of using the surrounding plants as camouflage as I want it to be subtle rather than a stand out feature.

 

Do check up on species of water plants, some are extremely invasive and can soon take over, you need the surface partially covered so that the water is not too green with algae and so it won't overheat, especially if we get another hot summer like this year. I have a water lily and a couple of water hawthorn, both flower and attract insects like damsel flies. I have stuck to native species to attract the wildlife. Frogbit is a good surface cover plant, but very prolific, I remove no end of it in the summer time, but it does doe the job if don't mind doing some weeding !

I used this company if you don't have a nursery nearby
Lincolnshire Pond Plants | eBay UK Stores

 

Thank you @burnie, much appreciated. I have ordered native species too and am hoping that the location I have in mind won’t get overheated, with border plants nearby. That link is very helpful too, thank you.

 

I have used surrounding plants, though I find I don't much notice or mind the edges of the pond. I planted some hardy geraniums this year - Geranium Phaem "Joseph Green" - which have done very well and made nice big mounds of foliage as well as flowering their socks off. My log pile is right by the pond too so I'm hoping a frog or two will spot the convenient set-up and move in.

 

That sounds like a good result @Escarpment, thank you.

 

I've never used those pre formed ponds @Plantminded as I'd be fed up trying to get it secure - and level. That would annoy me intensely if it wasn't right! I've always used liner which is much easier to work with, so can't advise re the sand.
I don't have to worry about collecting rainwater for filling ponds, but if your water is hard, then you can always collect it in buckets/containers for filling initially, and then for topping up. It won't take a lot if it's small.
If you decide to have a water lily, there are pygmy ones which would be best. They still grow if you have more space. I divided mine last year and made a deeper spot at one end of the pond to site it. They need sun, and you may have to play about with plant siting around/in the pond, just to see what works best. Anything around which casts shade at certain times of year will affect that planting, just as it would in a border.
I use plants, logs and rocks around the edges, and being a gravelled garden, there's also plenty of gravel to tuck into gaps. I never want to see liner edges. It also provides lots of little areas for insects to drink. For evergreens at the edges, I use Saxifrages and Arabis which give spring flowering, and then some Sedums work in summer. I also use Hellebores and Heucheras, but I also have pots which can be varied through the year, as well as All sorts of other plants. Irises are great for pond surrounds.

Some plants are perfectly happy edging right into the pond, but the disadvantage of that is that they also soak up water. The plentiful moss we have here also does that. It isn't too big a problem, but might be something to watch out for. I have a lot of shallower areas, mainly because the ground was like concrete when I decided to make a bigger pond, and I couldn't get some areas as deep as I'd have liked. That means I do get blanketweed, but I quite enjoy a little swizzling with a cane! It's been so hot this year, and those areas have stayed warm up until now, so I did some the other day. You can see it bottom left in the pic below, which I took yesterday. I'll be able to compost that today.

The birds love using it for bathing, so that's also the advantage of shallower areas. I regularly get ten or more sparrows visiting at one time.

 

That’s really helpful @fairygirl, thank you for all that detail. I did wonder about siting and levelling a preformed pond but it’s only small (baby’s bath size ) and should be OK, plus it can easily be removed. Your pond looks wonderful, a credit to you and all your hard work. It must be a delightful place for you to sit (not often ) and enjoy everything around you. It looks very natural and I like the way you have blended the edges into your garden .

 

The preformed pond arrived this afternoon so I thought there’s no time like the present and got digging! I was expecting it to be a bit of a challenge but it was quite easy to site and level. However, anything larger would definitely be difficult and time consuming.

I only needed to remove one plant from the border to position it and used some sandstone boulders to surround it which I had unearthed earlier in the year. I then filled the pond up with water. It’s level, and there are no leaks .

After tidying up I noticed my resident robin exploring the new instalment so am pleased that there’s already some wildlife interest. It needs a bit of tweaking and will look better once planted but I’m pleased with progress so far.

 

Great work @Plantminded , it's a nice addition to that area!

 

Great stuff @Plantminded. Always ideal to get a good start before winter weather, and it gives it all time to settle, and then you can make adjustments if needed. Once you have your pond plants, it'll all start to feel like a proper, established pond
It's always a good idea to add some rocks/logs etc on one of the shallower shelves so that it's really shallow for insects, and some young birds get a bit hesitant if it looks too deep as well. They soon get the hang of it all though. You'll have great fun playing about with the planting, adding other things and removing some and generally messing about with it all. The site looks really suitable too. I meant to say that you'll have plenty of grasses for edging!
One grass I've never had round mine is Hakonechloa, but it would be a useful one for edging, even though it isn't evergreen. The long stems would be nice for overhanging edging.

Kind of you re my pond. I'm not good at sitting, as you say, but I'm trying to get better about it! In manky weather, I can see the pond from the kitchen or my bedroom [think that photo is from the bedroom] as the house is elevated, and the view is often better than from the bench or the little chair I have, where I'm at 'pond' level. I was looking at my planting there yesterday, and I also have Bergenia which is useful for covering edges. Thrift is another useful one - mine is just planted in the surface gravel, like some of those saxifrages etc, so that they don't get sodden at root level. You'll no doubt fiddle about with various plants as you go along - it's all part of the fun!

 

Thank you @CostasK and @fairygirl, your advice helped enormously! Yes, I was thinking about putting something on those shelves @fairygirl and have some other rocks to use. I'll do this when the plants arrive so that I can figure out what goes where. This is what I ordered from Water Garden Plants as initial starters:

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Eriophorum vaginatum - Tufted Cottongrass, Hare's Tail Cottongrass

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Myosotis scorpioides - Water Forget-Me-Not × 1 (Sorry @fairygirl, it's blue .)

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Caltha palustris var. radicans - Miniature Marsh Marigold

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Juncus ensifolius - Swordleaf Rush, Flying Hedgehog Plant

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Equisetum hyemale - Water Horsetail, Rough Horsetail, Dutch Rush

I need to add an oxygenator so I'll try that watercress idea. Soup anyone ?

 

Our little pond, a similar size to yours but fully round and no shelves, so had the problem of how to get the plants in there without putting loads of bricks in to hold the pots at the right level.

We found one of these strong coated rings , less its support legs, which is held in place a couple of inches below the surface with some cable ties .
The potted plants are slotted into the individual openings and we put a flattish stone in the middle , half submerged so the birds etc can easily access the water.

Re the plants you have ordered, be aware that a good few aquatic plants almost completely die back each Autumn so do not be disappointed if some look rather sad.

Think any plants that have gone that way, we would keep them in a shallow tray of water over winter and wait until you see new growth in the Spring before submerging them in the pond.

Edit - we planted a little variegated Ivy by the side of the pond and trained it so it now totally hides the rim of the pond and also offers a good hiding place for the smaller critters.

 

Thank you @ricky101, I like that coated ring idea . I also appreciate your other advice and will see how the plants look when they arrive. I've got a suitable tray on standby for any sad ones!