A garden pond is a great addition to your garden, and it is also beneficial for wildlife. It is also something that can be a great garden feature, adding character and interest to your garden and making it a more pleasant place to spend time. Whether your pond is large or small, here are some of the things that you can do to make your garden pond a truly beautiful feature of your garden.
Firstly, think about plants – they can create a rich habitat in your pond and also make it look beautiful. Plants that you can grow in the pond include flowering plants like water hawthorn, and of course water lilies. You can also use rushes and reeds around the edges of the pond which also look beautiful and create a great place for young frogs and other animals to hide and rest on hot days.
You can use a range of different plants to create a rich habitat and make your pond look beautiful. Make sure that when you are choosing plants that are suited to the size and type of pond that you have and learn how to maintain them.
Add Sculptures and Ornaments
Adding sculpture is another great way to make your pond look beautiful. Using a sculpture or an ornament is a way to create a pond with personality – whether you opt for modern contemporary sculpture or something more traditional like these bronze animal sculptures https://www.gillparker.com/
You can also consider using a water feature to add some more interest to the pond, like a fountain for example. When choosing decoration for the pond, think about the materials and styles that complement your pond and the habitat that it is.
Choose Suitable Edges
Speaking of materials, the edge of the pond also makes a big difference to the way it looks of course. Timber and natural stone are both great materials to use for the edges, making the border natural and creating a natural appearance.
Doing this helps to disguise the liner that is in and around the pond too which of course makes it look nicer. Adding things like wooden branches also helps frogs and newts to get in and out of the pond.
Helping frogs and other pond wildlife
A beautiful pond can also be a haven for wildlife, whatever the size of your garden. A spot that gets both sun and shade through the day suits most pond life. By early February you may hear male frogs calling for mates, and frogspawn soon follows. Females lay hundreds of eggs because most become food for newts and dragonfly larvae.
To help more of them survive, leave any spawn where you find it and grow plenty of vegetation around the edges. Plants give eggs and young frogs a place to hide from predators and add oxygen to the water, which all pond life needs. Shallow edges let frogs get in and out easily, and if your pond has steep sides, a simple wooden ramp does the job.
The common frog is far less common in Britain than it once was, largely because of habitat loss, so a well planted pond does more than look good. It gives a familiar amphibian a better chance.
Digging and filling a new pond
Before a pond can become a feature, it has to be dug. Expect to remove a considerable amount of earth, and plan how you will take it away, as the weight adds up quickly and will usually need a trailer.
Decide early whether to use a preformed pond or dig a hole and line it with a pond liner. Some people reuse an old ceramic or plastic bath, which works well as long as there are no gaps for water to escape. Filling is straightforward, and a hosepipe will do the job.
If you plan to keep fish, treat the water first with water treatment tablets or a pond cleaner so that conditions are right before they arrive. Choose hardy outdoor goldfish rather than any fish you happen to find, as they are suited to life outside. Water lilies make a simple, attractive finishing touch that suits a pond of any size.
