Introduction

Introduction

Installing a pond, whether large or small, is one of the best things you can do for the wildlife in your garden. It also makes a beautiful feature in its own right, and offers a fantastic planting opportunity.

My personal pond story

Ponds are a magnet for wildlife, and for me they have particular significance, because they are where I started out aged five. My father dug a 4 x 6 ft pond in our orchard – just a very simple one with a liner – and we ordered some aquatic plants. I remember very vividly that first summer lying on the edge of the pond, looking into this watery lens. We lowered the plants into the pond in the spring and the alchemy of what happened next was what started my whole journey of being fascinated by plants and gardens.

Since then, ponds have always been something I have been fascinated by, and usually if there is an opportunity to include water in a garden, I will.

Here at Hillside, we have space to make something bigger, so this pond is about 30 m x 18 m. It's an opportunity to create something of significance for wildlife, and for the ecology to develop in its own way in this moist hollow at the bottom of the slopes.

We spent 10 years thinking about creating this pond, and it's worth waiting 10 years to get it right – to plan it, work out how water gets in, where surplus water needs to leave, and how we can hold the water in.

Timescale for creating the pond

1. I put in this pond last summer. We needed to do this in dry weather because it's a messy business: digging down to deepen the hollow and then re-landscaping around it.

1. In autumn, we sowed wildflower mixes around the pond edge. You can't plant up the pond itself at the end of the season, because aquatic plants need a growing season ahead of them when the water is warm enough for them to be able to establish themselves and thrive. So I waited over the winter for the banks to green up and stabilise the soil with the wildflower.

1. Now, in May, the pond is ready and waiting to be planted up.

Deciding if a pond is right for your project

The benefits of a pond

A pond has a life of its own and is a magnet for all the wonderful biodiversity that I'm so keen to encourage in gardens. Installing a pond is a very easy way to boost biodiversity in your own garden.

• If there is an opportunity to do so, I will always encourage my clients to include some water in their garden. It doesn't need to be big – it can be the size of a bathtub – but it will provide a sanctuary for a whole range of wildlife that wouldn't otherwise come to the garden.

• Of course, water in the garden is also a beautiful feature in its own right.

The conditions you need for a pond

For a successful pond, you need plenty of light as pond plants need sunlight and warmth in the water to thrive. Also, ponds that are overshadowed by trees are more prone to filling with leaf litter.

Creating a healthy pond

By planting your pond carefully, you can create a healthy ecology within the pond that is self-sustaining.

• As with the rest of the garden, there are layers of planting that create a balanced community in the pond – plants that live underwater, in the shallows, on the banks and around the pond and that all work together to become part of the ecology.