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.
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