Creating a wildlife pond

Encourage nature with plants and friendly habitats

WE specifically created our pond to attract wildlife and while we haven’t had any frogs or newts yet (to our knowledge), the water and surrounding area are full of mini-beasts and some other not-so-mini critters.

Snails, dragonfly and damselfly larvae, water boatmen, pond skaters and many other invertebrates have made themselves at home in the depths.

Around the pond we have seen hedgehogs and increasingly rare oil beetles, while garden birds pluck moss, grass and mud from the edge for their nests in spring.

We added pollinator-friendly plants around the fringes including marigolds, purple loosestrife, common cotton grass and irises. The deeper water is home to a lily and several oxygenating plants that help keep the water clear.