At last the pond is full again :-)
I was beginning to think the pond was going to dry right up as it is very shallow around the edges to create a natural eb and flow. With the rain of the last few days and the timely emptying of water butts in readyness for the down- pour, the pond and my water butts are now brim full.
Can't wait for the Damselflies to appear ....it needs to get a lot warmer!
Next job is to try and get some form of aggregate or sand to stick around the edges. It keeps washing in. Where the moss and grass creeps into the water it is beggining to form a mat on top of the liner to give a more natural edge. I'm glad I chose a brown liner ...I think it looks a little more natural than black if you don't look too hard. Marginal plants are spreading into the shallow area on the right of the above picture but only Hornwort, Frogbit and Willow Moss are colonising the deeper area on the left. The tadpoles enjoy the very shallow and warmer margins making easy pickings for the Blackbirds. The frogs stay in the deeper weedy area and I see them when they surface from time to time ....if I'm patient enough.
Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts - Henry David Thoreau
Brilliant update FP good to see it's topped up for the wildlife.
Regards Alan
My photos are on Flickr and Website
Newt Action!
Poor pictures but a record any way. They were chasing each other around looking amorous :-)
(underwater and quite far away using a polaroid filter)
I think I'm right in saying that this is a Palmate Newt. Identifying characteristics being the large webbed back feet and the spine on the tail. If any one knows different I would appreciate help in identifying them.
.............................and
Cowslips around the edge of the pond in the evening sunshine
Brilliant photos FP love the Newts hope you get to show us some young ones
See here
www.rspb.org.uk/.../4221.aspx
Frogbit is just forming it's first leaves. I look forward to a profusion of little white and yellow flowers this year. This plant is great for a small pond and easy to clear out if it gets too vigourous. It's like a miniature water lily and provides good shade in hot weather and is a good 'helipad' for mating Damselflies
.
Later in the summer it will look like this...............
Hope to see lots of this soon :-)
Pond in the Rain .............................
This is where I find out if my system of the main pond overflowing to the bog (back left) thus preventing the whole garden from flooding works............................deep breath!
This view shows the pond almost filling my front garden (seen through the porch window)
The pink snow is the Cherry Blossom that I net off daily ....such dedication :-)
Brilliant update FP hope it works
It looks very natural, Frog Prince, you've put in a lot of hard work. How deep is it at it's deepest point?
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
The shallow side where the marginal plants are growing is about 6 inches deep and the other side is only about 12 inches. I was working on the theory that most of the life in a small pond occurs in about 2 inches of water. I also wanted a variable eb and flow on 'beaches' around the edge. The bog area is about 12 inches deep and is completely separate and lower than the pond so there can be no nutrient rich flow from bog to pond.
Today's Find :-)
I was skimming the cherry blossom off the surface of the pond and look what I found :-) :-) :-)
It's huge ...about 50mm long ..........
My I.D. skills are not great but looking at my trusty old 'Observers Book of Pond Life' I think this is a Brown Hawker Dragonfly Nymph Aeshna grandis
Did you have a problem with it freezing solid in the winter? I noticed the RSPB leaflet on making ponds for wildlife, which I downloaded a while ago, says that you should aim for 2 feet deep to allow for hibernating creatures to survive in unfrozen water in winter. Maybe it depends where you are in the country.
I'm afraid my I.D. skills are poor with such creatures too, other than that it's a dragonfly nymph! If I ever get my pond created, (it's all in my head at the minute!)I shall have to improve my knowledge.
We are in the relatively warm South West but even in the two very cold winters before this last one all seemed to be OK. Some people believe that if you are not keeping fish and you want to create a 'natural' pond it needs very shallow sloping edges. If its deepest areas were two feet deep it would have to be very large.
Yes, that's a thought that I hadn't considered. Thankyou.