6th JULY, 2006
It was agreed that the following four projects would be beneficial in our situation:
1. Creating a wildlife pond
2. Planting a replacement hedge of hawthorn and blackthorn
3. Preparing and planting two areas to be managed as a wildlife
meadow.
4. Providing bird and bat boxes around the garden
Our garden is 160ft X 25ft. It has a large, flat, lawned area and a patio. A path winds up a gradual slope towards the top of the garden which has a boundary hedge of native trees and shrubs and a gate out onto the Fell.
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The diameter of the pond is 3.5m x 2.5m x 90cm. After we had dug the hole, we removed any sharp and pertruding stones and roots, and then used old carpets as an ‘under cushion’.
We then applied the pond liner.
Once filled, we left the pond for a couple of weeks to ‘settle’.
The only problem we encountered arrived during August - when our son’s Labrador dog, Jet, came for her summer holiday! She just cannot resist water and launched her five and a half stones into the pond at every opportunity.
Pretty soon, we noticed that the water level was dropping. Had she punctured the liner? Panic!!
Well - thankfully, she hadn’t. She had moved it at one edge, causing seepage. Fortunately this was soon remedied. Phew!!
We then went shopping for aquatic plants. We purchased modestly, being aware that they must soon face our harsh winter on the Fell, and not wanting to lose any of them. We choose some oxygenating plants for the deeper water. These have thrived. We have continued to lower them over the weeks, as they have grown towards the surface.
We bought a type of water lily which has also grown well, and is now on the pond bottom with leaves flat on the surface. This, also, seems to be established.
We bought emergent plants, including water forget-me-not and some marginal plants which we placed at one edge of the pond. All appears well with all of our plants. Our hope is that they survive until next spring, and do well.
We also bought a floating leaved plant - but this was sabotaged, this time, by Meg, our daughter’s dog, who kept fishing bits of it out, and throwing it around the garden!
We look forward to 2007 and observing our pond through each of the four seasons. Certainly the signs of colonisation and usage by our local wildlife in the early months of the Project, look extremely promising!
The area of the pond was measured out and the turf removed and carefully kept and watered to be used, later, round the edges. This wasn’t easy as temperatures soared to 30c during a heat wave.
Digging began in earnest! All of the soil which we removed will be used to create a vegetable garden.
We loosely trimmed the liner, put a fine layer of sand at the bottom of the pond and began to fill up the pond. Rainwater was scarce during July and August 2006, and the water barrels were empty!
We had to use tap water.
Our next task, was to create ‘banks’ at various places around the edges of the pond. We did this with bags of river pebbles. This enabled us to vary the depth from very shallow to a bit deeper, around the edges.
We collected some larger, local stones from round about and built these up around some of the pond edge. We intend to create a little water fall feature at some point, but cannot find just the right shaped bit of rock to top it off : We will keep looking!
The pond was constructed during a long, hot, dry spell of weather, in July and August. The garden birds were the first to benefit. Almost immediately, they were drinking from it, bathing in the shallow edges and then flying into the little bank of soil at the side of the pond and fluttering about and luxuriating in the warm, dry soil. Eventually, this banking will become a rockery.
Damsel Flies, Mayflies and lots of Midges have been seen in and around the pond.
On 23rd September, a Dragonfly was seen showing interest!
I have noticed during the latter part of October, little clouds of green algae forming around parts of the edge of the pond.
The biggest surprise, was on 23rd August. I was placing the last of the river pebbles around the edges of the pond, when a movement caught my eye and, an inch long common toad jumped for cover! Haven’t seen it since - and no sign of any others - but they are around!