Creating a small pond.

Aren't there two types of elodea, I think from memory one was called canadensis, I think that is the banned one.

 

Thank you @pete. I've just done a search, it's Elodea crispa that's banned. Any others are OK in the UK as long as you don't allow them to escape into the wild.

 

Just looking it up, apparently it's not banned, but it is an offence to let it escape or to plant it in the wild.

 

I've just read that it's illegal to sell or buy Elodea crispa in the UK @pete but those who have it in their ponds already can keep it as long as it's not allowed to escape.

The one I have bought must be Elodea Densa, now known as Egeria Densa, which won't survive winter unless it's very mild. Oh well .

egeria-densa-bunched-annual-substitute-for-elodea-crispa-p-4051.html

 

This afternoon I added the plants to the pond, constructed a ramp out of cobbles, plus a logwood pontoon for pond gazers and sunbathers . It was tricky getting the plants at the right level - they required different levels so I used some old bricks. I also made a log pile close by.

The pond will need some further work when things start to grow/collapse/die . Planting a border is definitely easier but this has been a good way to avoid looking at everything else in the garden winding down and looking sad!

 

That's looking good @Plandminded, you and Fairygirl have almost persuaded me to put a pond in but the trouble is I hate frogs/toads jumping out at me when I'm nose down, bottom up in the flower beds. Gives me such a fright.

Thanks too @fairygirl for the suggestion that London Pride is good for shady places. I grow it as a path edging in the sunshine but need something reasonably well behaved for my shady rockery under small trees. Might be just the ticket so I'll move some next spring.

 

Thank you @lizzie27. I know what you mean about those jumping surprises but I think it’s worth having a go .

 

I think it's probably E. crispa I have @Plantminded . I've had it for around 11 or 12 years, because I cretaed the first pond in this garden within a year or so of moving in. I usually weight it down a little more into the spots that suit best, when putting in a pond, but it usually comes with a weight on it as you describe.
I've had that saxifrage in sites where it gets virtually no light, let alone sunlight @lizzie27 . I have it along a strip opposite my shed door, and there's very little light getting in there at any time of year as it's also underneath part of the conifer canopy. We had a long, steep bank at the last house, between an area of grass/shrubs and the annexe. The whole run of the bank had it growing, and it was always damp there too.
Watercress doesn't survive winter here, but it's been more vigorous this year due to the conditions we've had. It's very useful as a cheap surface cover and also because of the nutrient take up.

 

Some photos of the pond settling in. The water Forget Me Not is flowering and I've added more bricks to keep everything upright before repotting in spring.

 

It's already looking lovely @Plantminded!

If it was my pond, in Spring I would probably look to add some plants with floating leaves, so that you can't see the pots of the marginal plants, but it does look nice already.

 

Thank you @CostasK, yes I'm planning to add a pygmy water lily in spring when available, is that what you've got in yours?

 

Actually no @Plantminded My biggest consideration was that the location of my container pond is (at least) partially shaded, so I went with the one that I found to be the most shade tolerant based on research, even though I was pushing it slightly regarding size. One of the reasons I want to upgrade to a bigger pond next year is to enable the water lily to get closer to its full potential.

This is the one I went for (though I didn't actually get it from Crocus): Nymphaea 'James Brydon' - water lily

 

Thank you @CostasK. I like that one, nice colour .