Wildlife gardening - pond and wetland areas

Wetlands are one of the fastest disappearing wildlife habitats in this country. We have lost many village ponds, lakes and ditches and many of our wetland areas are "reclaimed" for agriculture, housing and other development projects. A pond has outstanding wildlife value - it is one of the richest of Nature's classrooms, from which to observe the relationships between plants and animals - or food webs - and the process of metamorphosis from frog spawn to frog.

Areas of water in a garden add another dimension: they provide the most tranquil of places to sit, reflecting sun by day and moon and stars by night. To me, nothing beats watching the activities at my garden pond - dragonflies darting above, pond skaters and whirligigs on, and amphibians and a wealth of insects and larvae below the water.

Choose a sheltered spot that gets sun for more than half of the day. Mark out the shape you want your pond to be, using rope or an old hose pipe - the more irregularly you shape, it the more natural it will look.

When digging out your pond, ensure that at least one side has a very shallow slope to allow creatures to climb in and out and to allow mammals and birds to come and drink. You can use the earth and stone from your pond area to create habitats for amphibians - a rockery is ideal for newts and toads to shelter and the addition of a log pile will provide food and shelter for insects and amphibians. Try to create a maximum depth at the pond's centre of between 2 and 3 feet: this will prevent the pond from icing up, helping hibernating amphibians.

To line the pond, butyl rubber is ideal. To calculate how much you need, use the following formula: length = greatest length of pond + twice max. depth; width = greatest width of pond + twice max. depth.

Check the pond for sharp stones before using builders' sand and wet newspapers or old carpet to act as an underlay for the liner. Weigh the liner down at its corners before filling with water. Once full, tuck the liner down into the surrounding soil. If you fill your pond from the mains water supply, leave for a week before planting to allow chemicals in the water to disperse.

One important rule for pond development is your choice of plants. It really is vital that you go native where planting a pond is concerned. All pond plants grow quite fast and non-natives can be impossible to get rid of once they have taken over. Please avoid Canadian pondweed Elodea canadensis, parrot's feather Myriophyllum aquaticaum and fairy moss Azolla caroliniana as these will do more harm than good. Another point to remember is that most wildlife will find its own way to your pond and, with the exception of the occasional egg on a bird's foot, fish will not arrive naturally. Introducing fish will mean wiping out important larvae, tadpoles and young newts.

Native plants to choose

Floating plants

Frogbit Hydrocharis morsus-panae

Emergent plants

• Water forget-me-not Myosotis palustris
• Water mint Mentha aquatica  
• Yellow flag Iris pseudoacorus
• Flowering rush Butomus umbellatus
• Water plantain Plantago alisma aquatica
• Water violet Hottonia palustris

Plants rooted in deep water

• Broad-leaved pondweed Potamogeton nataris
• White water lily Nymphaea alba
• Yellow water lily Nuphar luteum/ lutea

Submerged oxygenators

• Hornwort Ceratophyllum demersum
• Water crowfoot Ranunculus aquatilis
• Common water starwort Callitriche stagnalis
• Spiked water milfoil Myriophyllum spicatum

If you can find the space, add a marsh area adjacent to your pond. Do this by digging out an area the size you want and line it in the same way you would a pond, but fill it with a mixture of subsoil and washed sand (as with a wildflower meadow, you don't want the area to be too fertile). It is a good idea to overlap your pond liner into your marsh - this way, any overflow will leak into your marsh and keep it damp.

Some marshland plants to choose:

• Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria
• Purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria
• Lady's smock Cardamine pratensis
• Gypsywort Lycopus europaeus
• Ragged robin Lychnis flos-culculi
• Marsh marigold Caltha palustris
• Rushes and sedges Juncus and Carex
• Soapwort Saponaria officinalis
• Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata

As your pond matures, you will need to manage it so that the plants don't take over. In the autumn, as much as 2/3 of plant growth can be removed. Leave this around the pond edge for a few days to allow creatures to crawl back in. 

• Wildlife gardening
  • The wildflower meadow
  • Butterfly borders
  • Woodland

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