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Stocking a pond
Water soldier in water ditch
It is often best to simply allow your pond to stock itself. You may be surprised just how rapidly insects, frogs and plants colonise.
Stock your pond with native plants, either from other garden ponds or from garden centres. Winter is the best time to do this. Never take plants from the wild. It is best to have a mixture of submerged plants, floating plants and emergent plants, which are rooted in water but whose foliage extends into the air.
Invasive species
You may wish to boost the wildlife of your pond more quickly by bringing a bucket of water from an established pond. This will carry a risk that you may accidentally introduce disease or undesirable animal or plant life because many ponds contain non-native, potentially invasive plants or non-native animals. It is unwise, and in the case of some species illegal, to introduce or assist the spread of non-native invasive organisms.
A wide variety of non-native species have been brought into the garden trade over the years. Some of these have turned out to be invasive in character, choking waterways and outcompeting native plants. These plants end up in the countryside as seeds and plant fragments are carried by birds and other wildlife that visit the pond, and as aquarists and gardeners dump excess plants into the countryside.
It is important to never allow material from garden ponds to reach the countryside, either accidentally or deliberately. Once established, it is very difficult to eradicate these plants. The most damaging of these should never be introduced to a pond.
Click on the link to the right for a list of invasive species to avoid.
Last modified: 01 June 2007