Natural Pond

JonKelleher

Any one have any tips on creating a natural pond?

Size, where to source the water initially, what to put at the bottom, plants and shrubs, frogs, newts?

I'm a complete newbie, but really like the idea!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Some good advice and tips here -
http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/pond/pond_pages.htm

JonKelleher

Pedro Alive Vehemence wrote: »

Some good advice and tips here -
http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/pond/pond_pages.htm

Excellent, thanks!

Capercaille

I have two small garden ponds. One pond is 4.5m x 2.5mx 1.5m. Second is smaller 2.5m x 1.5m x1m. Only use native plants. Seed your water with water from native ponds, it will introduce mini creatures. You can fill from mains but leave for a couple of weeks till chlorine all gone till you seed the pond with water from another pond. I put in a water diverter and collect into a water butt, which flows via a hosepipe to the ponds. It keeps the pond water fresh. No need for water pumps or filters, natural ponds do without. My ponds are 7 years old now and have loads of frogs and a few newts:)

JonKelleher

Capercaille wrote: »

I have two small garden ponds. One pond is 4.5m x 2.5mx 1.5m. Second is smaller 2.5m x 1.5m x1m. Only use native plants. Seed your water with water from native ponds, it will introduce mini creatures. You can fill from mains but leave for a couple of weeks till chlorine all gone till you seed the pond with water from another pond. I put in a water diverter and collect into a water butt, which flows via a hosepipe to the ponds. It keeps the pond water fresh. No need for water pumps or filters, natural ponds do without. My ponds are 7 years old now and have loads of frogs and a few newts:)

Great stuff, thanks.

magicbastarder

Capercaille wrote: »

I have two small garden ponds. One pond is 4.5m x 2.5mx 1.5m. Second is smaller 2.5m x 1.5m x1m. Only use native plants. Seed your water with water from native ponds, it will introduce mini creatures. You can fill from mains but leave for a couple of weeks till chlorine all gone till you seed the pond with water from another pond. I put in a water diverter and collect into a water butt, which flows via a hosepipe to the ponds. It keeps the pond water fresh. No need for water pumps or filters, natural ponds do without. My ponds are 7 years old now and have loads of frogs and a few newts:)

any photos? i hope to be digging one later in the year.
one question - our back garden is over an underground river, which means we sometimes get an inch or two of standing water during prolonged spells of rain. i assume i'll need to bank up the pond to make sure it does not become part of this larger pond, to help keep the critters in who otherwise might spread out and get stranded?

robp

magicbastarder wrote: »

any photos? i hope to be digging one later in the year.
one question - our back garden is over an underground river, which means we sometimes get an inch or two of standing water during prolonged spells of rain. i assume i'll need to bank up the pond to make sure it does not become part of this larger pond, to help keep the critters in who otherwise might spread out and get stranded?

That characteristic can be good and it could help the pond naturalise a lot. Don't worry about them getting stranded. The pond I built in my own garden is a tear-dropped shape (3x6m). We wanted it to very wild but also be a good backdrop for a patio for eating outside etc. So one side is paved and dry, the water drops deep suddenly. While on the far side the water gets deep very gradually, so here there is a considerable wild swampy area full of tall emergent plants which visually frames the pond from the patio. Doing this allowed us to combine both demands.

Therefore, whether you need a dry side really depends on your intended use. IMO having one dry side encourages people to visit the pond and enjoy it.

Capercaille

magicbastarder wrote: »

any photos? i hope to be digging one later in the year.
one question - our back garden is over an underground river, which means we sometimes get an inch or two of standing water during prolonged spells of rain. i assume i'll need to bank up the pond to make sure it does not become part of this larger pond, to help keep the critters in who otherwise might spread out and get stranded?

main pond during summer

Main pond now Smaller pond

Frog spawn

magicbastarder

re digging the pond away from trees - is this primarily to reduce the amount of leaves which fall into it, or to maximise light?

Capercaille

magicbastarder wrote: »

re digging the pond away from trees - is this primarily to reduce the amount of leaves which fall into it, or to maximise light?

If I was doing it again I would dig the ponds away from hedge. The leaves dropping into pond and rotting adds to eutrophication. Too much light for a pond especially for a small pond can lead to a lot of algae, to counteract that have plants like water-lily to cover 30-50% of pond surface. This reduces the light getting into pond. Plant your water lily in baskets though otherwise they will take over your pond.

St. Leibowitz

magicbastarder wrote: »

re digging the pond away from trees - is this primarily to reduce the amount of leaves which fall into it, or to maximise light?

Tree roots spread horizontally out from the trunk, about a foot under the surface. The roots will puncture the liner, and can even penetrate building walls.

JonKelleher

Capercaille wrote: »

main pond during summer

Main pond now Smaller pond

Frog spawn

Really magnificent example, well done!