wooden raised fish pond

hi we are new to gardens and ponds we have 6 foot x 4 x 19 " foot raised pond , we are unsure how to put in some plants etc as there are no levels like you get in a premolded pond , how would we create levels etc for plants and make it a nice home for wildlife , any help and advice would be great thanks

 

Is it an liner?
I raise planting crates up on bricks.
A bit of sheet polystyrene under the bricks makes sure no sharp edges damage the liner.

 

Alternatively, you could use upside-down plant pots. The advantage of bricks, if you can mitigate the rough edges, is you can create a hiding place for fish or wildlife...

 

thankyou for your replys the pond has a full liner installed we took a picture to show you , with the bricks are these normal house bricks i was thinking of the dust with the pump thanks ,

 

All looks a bit more sterile than my pond I'm afraid.

Most pond pumps can deal with a certain amount of sludge, they have to in mine.

 

Hi,

Yes you need to add some stones,bricks etc otherwise many creatures will not be able to get out if they fall in; just rinse them before adding to the pond.

You could also use some of the cheap plastic stools or storage boxes as well as long as you use some soft material on their legs/underside.
With plantpots or boxes do make some holes as the pond creatures also like some enclosed areas to hide.

Birds also like a shallow area between stones or large pebbles to drink and wash so something like a plastic box just below the surface with some stones or large beach pebbles on top would make a very friendly area for them.
Pond plants will soon grow around them to disguise the box etc.

Afraid you are not going to find much in the way of pond plant this time of year.
We looked around a few weeks ago, very little left, ended up ordering some online, but they were just small peices, though they have had a few weeks to grow before the colder weather sets in.

 

I agree @ricky101 .

For wildlife m you have to think of entry, and EXIT - ie how the poor things are going to get out of the pond, should they fall in. A gradual slope is ideal, but can’t always be integrated into a formal setting. A good alternative is a pot, just below the water surface, and within paws-reach of the edge of the pond. Think of a frantically swimming hedgehog trying to get out. Can he make it from the pot to the edge? Will the pot take his weight? Can he climb onto the pot? And out of the pond? Sometimes steps of different height pots will do the trick. If it works for the hedgehog, you also have the correct water-depths for bathing and drinking birds.

I hope this lateral thinking helps you!

(If you can’t get the plants you want at the moment, then pots filled with coarse gravel or pebbles will work until next spring, when the plants will be available again)

 

thank you all for your expert advice it was a great help i got some plants and some plastic boxes for plants to stand on not sure about the pump though as i think it looks strange with water fall and fountain together, with regards to wildlife apart from insects we was going to put netting over the pond as one day we will have a few fish and there are alot of cats in the area

 

I've never used the fountain option but I suppose it's down to choice.

 

we with regards to the fountain i think its a hoselock 4000 electric pump but i am not sure how far i can dismantle so it would go under the cascade part of the pond

 

Usually there are different attachments to the top of the pump that diverts all the water to the water fall.

 

many thanks for your replyall though i have turned down the water to the pump its still coming out of pump fountain , i am not sure if i remove this section if it would be safe to use as there is a bulb inside ,

 

Not the kind of pump I have ever used so cant really say, but I would have thought there was a cap of some kind that you replace the fountain section with.

 

Doesn't the grey valve top left switch off the flow to the fountain?

 

many thanks for your reply if i try and turn of grey valve at top of fountain it does not turn water of completely to fountain , so i was woundering about taking the top half of to the fountain but unsure even if i can get a part to put on so it would cover up the bulb or even if it would be safe to use as the pump is electric