A pond or water feature can add liveliness to even the drabbest of backyards. No, I am not promoting a garden makeover, but thought I’d share something of the enjoyment I get from our garden pond, not least because a variety of wildlife get to enjoy it too.
About 15 years ago, we dug – or more accurately my spouse dug – our pond from scratch. We were first motivated to put in a pond to provide a wildlife-friendly water source and also because a water garden can, rather paradoxically, add both vitality and tranquillity. There are good reasons why ponds and fountains have a long history in elaborate formal gardens, in public spaces and in small family gardens too.
Water is a precious resource, and we are fortunate in that we have been able to install water tanks to collect and store rainwater from the roof gutters, and we also divert rainwater from a downpipe to top up the pond directly. So our pond is topped up every time there is a shower of rain, and we can also top it up using the rainwater stored in our tanks.
One of the first pleasures of a pond is that you get to grow native aquatic plants. (Please say no to invasive alien water plants that can choke up our waterways!) This small indigenous yellow water lily, Nymphoides thunbergiana, is particularly suited to small ponds or water features, but unfortunately it can be hard to find, with few nurseries stocking it
In addition to the water plants you can grow in submerged pots, there are many plants that look good at the edges of ponds or nearby a water features, such as this Yellow Wild Iris, Dietes bicolor
You know that your pond is healthy when frogs arrive to make use of it, such as this pair of breeding Guttural Toads, Amietophrynus gutturalis. Usually mating pairs lay their eggs during the night, but early one morning I found this pair in our pond laying their long double strands of eggs
For several years we had Banded Tilapia in our pond. Initially we thought these attractive fish would eat mosquito larvae (which they did) but they bred so prolifically that we ended up with over 200 fish in a small space. What we decided to do will be the subject of a future post!
Accustomed to using the bird baths, it took time for the garden birds to start using the pond, which now has many bird visitors every day. The pond has a safe approach to a shallow end where birds can both drink and bathe. This Cape Robin enjoys its bathing sessions in the garden pond
Hadeda Ibises are common visitors to gardens, using their long bills to probe for worms and other creatures in suburban lawns. Many bird baths are too small to allow such large birds to bathe easily, so the shallow end of our pond is a popular with these birds who sometimes queue up to bathe, as the pond can only accommodate two or three bathing at the same time. Although they are usually fairly tame, perhaps because they feel vulnerable, Hadedas are surprisingly shy when bathing, making it hard to get a photograph of one in the act
Despite all this activity, mostly the pond is a quiet spot apart from the sound of trickling water from our homemade mini cascade. The sound of water falling is soothing and also helps to mask the sound of distant traffic.
The pond then has become a focal point in the garden, for visiting birds and other creatures, and for us it is a place of quiet reflection, and reflections …
A Dwarf Papyrus (Cyperus prolifer) reflected in the surface of the pond
A floating leaf breaking up autumn reflections
Even in a small pond, pond ecology can be complicated and our pond has had several incarnations with alterations to its size and tremendous changes in the plants both in and around the pond. It was surprising to us to find a garden pond to be such a dynamic enterprise. Perhaps I will do some future blog posts on the adaptations we have had to make to our pond over the years and suggest some of the ways to make a pond wildlife friendly.
And in conclusion, just to say, I do ♥ our pond!
Posted by Carol
June 27, 2018 at 8:01 pm
Hi there, I just came across your blog. I just dug out and created a wildlife pond in my yard this week. I love it. But I am getting comments from friends and family saying I will be inundated by snakes and mosquitoes. I am planning on using BTI mosquito dunks monthly, so mosquitoes won’t be an issue. Have you noticed many snakes coming to your yard because of your pond? Thanks!
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June 27, 2018 at 8:46 pm
Hi Amy. Your wildlife pond will give you so much to enjoy! Re mosquitoes, when we had fish in our pond they seemed to eat the larvae. With no fish we did get some larvae in the pond and we used some BTI. Now we only use it if we notice the wriggly larvae in the pond, which is not often, perhaps because the water circulates. I’d suggest only using the BTI when you need to and depending on the seasons. Re snakes – I would guess their presence or absence depends on the type of snake and a variety of factors, not only on having a pond or not. Mostly snakes are reclusive and avoid us and so we simply don’t see them. The only snakes I have noticed and seen more than once over the years have been non-venomous. Snakes can be beneficial in controlling rodents in areas where they might be a problem. I can’t say I have noticed more snakes since we have had a pond and we definitely are far from inundated! Seeing a snake is a relatively rare occurrence even though we try to make our garden wildlife friendly.
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February 17, 2018 at 6:58 pm
How better a way to recycle rainwater than to create a wildlife haven with it. It must give you hours of joy!
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February 20, 2018 at 2:33 pm
Thanks Theresa. Yes it does – it is simple but surprisingly dynamic.
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February 17, 2018 at 5:46 am
Those are beautiful pics. I love the frog. Good to hear that we’re doing ok if we have frogs. In fact we had newts too, but then saw a grass snake in the pond, and are not sure if newts survived!
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February 20, 2018 at 2:31 pm
Thank you. Lovely to hear that you have frogs and (had?) newts too. Here in our garden, twice I have seen an unfortunate frog caught and swallowed by a Green Snake, but that is also part of a functioning little eco system I suppose. Interestingly, there are no newts that are native to South Africa, as far as I know.
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February 2, 2018 at 3:59 pm
It’s amazing what a bit of water can do to enhance the vitality of a yard or garden. Can’t wait to see what you did with the tilapia!
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February 4, 2018 at 5:07 am
Yes water does enliven any space – even a small birdbath works wonders. I will definitely be posting about the fish in future 🙂
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February 2, 2018 at 12:20 pm
I love your pond too! And this is so timely – we are discussing having a wildlife pond in our field right now! Many years ago when my children were small we had a house with a marvellous pond. The hours we spent watching the wildlife and the evolution of the pond environment itself. Wonderful! I hope you reveal more of your pond experiences 🙂
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February 3, 2018 at 5:14 am
Thanks Sandra. We have also found that the pond environment constantly evolves. I hope that you do get to make a pond. I will share some of our pond making experiences.
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February 2, 2018 at 4:42 am
Gotta love ponds. Yours looks very nice. And kudos for the rainwater collection. I think that’s such a worthwhile thing to do.
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February 4, 2018 at 4:56 am
Thanks Graham. Here in South Africa rainwater tanks are becoming more common, even in the suburbs, and even in the drought-stricken areas where they hope to capture even a little rain that might fall in the future.
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February 2, 2018 at 3:30 am
I thoroughly enjoyed this post, though it has me thinking of a way to incorporate a bit of a pond here. Luckily we have a creek that runs at one edge of our property. During the winter it runs fast and deep enough to hear at the house, but as things dry up it slows to a trickle come summer.
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February 3, 2018 at 5:31 am
Thanks Gunta. Your creek sounds wonderful and such a tangible way of keeping in tune with the cycles of nature.
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February 2, 2018 at 2:04 am
You have every right to be very proud of your pond, Carol – it is lovely!
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February 3, 2018 at 5:28 am
Thanks! It can provide a small compensation for not being able to breakaway to wild places as often as we would like ☺
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February 1, 2018 at 11:45 pm
We have a nice little pond that all of the animals and birds love. Some years we get lots of frogs, however, last year we didn’t get any. I wonder if it’s because we didn’t have any plants in the pond last year? Your thoughts…🙋
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February 3, 2018 at 5:22 am
I can only say that plants can help oxygenate the water and provide cover for creatures in the pond. Surrounding frog-friendly vegetation also provides places for frogs to find prey as they don’t eat in the water – only the tadpoles do. Of course frogs are sensitive to many environmental hazards including temperature changes so maybe something in the broader picture has impacted on the frogs in your neighbourhood. Whatever it is, I hope that they return to your pond in the spring.
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February 1, 2018 at 10:30 pm
Your pond is lovely. A wonderful hub of life to enjoy!
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February 2, 2018 at 5:11 am
Nice way of putting it. Thanks.
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February 2, 2018 at 4:22 pm
You are welcome.
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February 1, 2018 at 10:24 pm
We made a pond at our last house. Though not as rich in varied plant and other life as yours, it was a haven, and though tiny, regularly supported up to thirty breeding frogs in early spring. Every garden should have a pond!
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February 2, 2018 at 5:07 am
I so agree ☺
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February 1, 2018 at 8:59 pm
Nothing like a pond in the garden! When we moved from our previous home, we immediately converted the pool to a koi pond.
Oddly enough, we have never managed to attract frogs.
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February 2, 2018 at 4:57 am
That is great to turn the swimming pool into a pond. Re the frogs, maybe there are not many in your neighbourhood but does the pond have a safe way they can get in and out? Some people float a platform against the edge of the pond or swimming pool so that any creature that might fall in can get out, which is such a good idea. I have heard that there are inflatable ones available too ☺
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February 2, 2018 at 3:48 pm
There is the shallow step, but that’s all. We have herons visit us and anything that aids their access to the fish we try to steer clear of.
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