Planting Wildlife ponds
Building a wildlife pond and bog garden and incorporating British Native pond plant species and moisture loving plants to give a strong wildlife habitat feature for a wetland area however large or small.
Which plants should I choose to encourage wildlife into my ponds?
Once you have built your wildlife pond use British Native submerged oxygenating plants of the correct quantity Callitriche palustris (Starwort) or Ceratophyllum demersum (Hornwort) are good for starting up wildlife ponds and both can be used together. In a new pond, the stocking rate for oxygenating plants should be two bunches/9 cm pots per m².
They occupy different areas of the pond as do the wildlife species you hope to attract - Hornwort gives underwater cover for newts, frogs and toads and the Starwort gives surface protection and cover for tadpoles and water boatmen whilst both use up the nitrates in the water and help to avoid the growth of blanketweed and other algaes. Potamogeton crispus is valuable in a more shady pond and Ranunculus aquatilis for moving water.
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Then add native species surface cover plants - Menyanthes trifoliata, Veronica beccabunga and Myosotis scirpioides raft across the water and the newts will lay their eggs in the leaves of the Myosotis and the Veronica so these are good pond plants for encouraging the breeding of these species of wildlife in your ponds. The photo shows the folded over leaves of Myosotis scirpioides that have been used by the female newt to wrap her eggs in. |
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Greater surface cover later in the year can be obtained from water lilies or the Native Frogbit (Hydrocharis Morsus Ranae) and Water Soldier (Stratiotes Aloides) and these plants will help to protect the young and vulnerable newts undergoing metamophosis from the larvae stages to adults.
Picture courtesy Jim Grundy.
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The shelf or sloping ledge areas of the pond can add further seasons of flowering interest to encourage visits by hoverflies and bees. The choice of marginal pond plants can also help some wildlife to climb out of the pond - dragonfly larvae will use the tall stems of marginal plants - Water Iris, Lythrum salicaria and Cyperus species to enable them to climb out and emerge as adults from the larvae casing left abandoned when they fly for the first time. |
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Later in the same season the adults will fly above the water in the mating ritual that can be recognized as they rise and fall in flight and this will result in the females laying their eggs into the mud at the edge of the pond or in and around the marginal pond plants. The dragonfly larvae then live beneath the water for years until it is their turn to climb out in the last few months of their lives. |
Some marginal plants are more suited to garden wildlife ponds others to a larger lake situation. Dependant on the size of your wildlife water area choose the varieties carefully - ie. Typha latifolia is a vigorous rafting plant but Typha minima is a smaller clumping variety. The same is true for Iris. The Native is the Yellow Flag - Iris pseudacorus which can grow to 5ft tall and spreads into a solid clump of 2ft width within a couple of years. There are more restrained Iris 2ft 6" in height with a slower growth rate that fit more in the scale of most garden ponds that are not Natives. The choice of colours then include blues, purples, whites and black.
Not all the pond plant species you choose for a wildlife pond have to be British Natives - some other species such as Pontederia add a later flowering season and interesting leaf structure to a wildlife pond.
There are smaller varieties such as Juncus ensifolius, Cyperus eragrostis and involucratus, Caltha palustris Alba that are all members of a family that contains Native plants but these particular varieties are not classed as Native pond plants. Because of the 'family connections' they do not look out of place in a wildlife setting and are not invasive. These can make interesting additions to a wildlife pond in a smaller scale planting scheme than the Native Juncus effusus, Cyperus longus and Caltha palustris which are all more vigorous.
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Add Native to our search and that will give you all the British Native plants available through our website for planting a wildlife pond if that is your choice, purchase the Native Planting scheme or buy an individual planting scheme and we will create one to your requirements introducing a balance of pond plant species. |
Blending out from the wet areas of the pond the wetland habitat planting should be dense in places to allow the creatures that come and go from the water at various stages of their life cycles to do so safely under the protection of plant foliage. In the boggy wetland areas pond plants that like wet mud can be used - Caltha, Iris, Eriophorum and Lysichiton.
If you have created a separate area for moist loving plants alongside your linered pond then plants for moist or damp conditions can be used to create the necessary sheltered habitat eg. Darmera peltata, Iris ensata and Ligularia species.
How do I know the plants I choose for my wildlife pond are not going to be invasive?
The plants chosen for your wildlife pond from us will grow well but not be too invasive - remembering that like any living thing your plants will grow and need maintaining on a regular basis. It is what you do with them after you have removed them from your pond that can cause concern. (Beplantwise)
How can I control Blanketweed in a pond for wildlife as I do not want to use chemicals?
The natural, organic method for controlling blanketweed is to use Barleystraw products - either in the form of the straw itself or the liquid concentrate together with the correct balance of planting. Oxygenating plants to compete for the mineral salts and surface cover pond plants to block out sun light are vital.
What should I think about when I want to build a wildlife pond?
Firstly, think about the siting of the pond. It should be in a secluded part of the garden where the creatures that visit the pond will feel secure as they come and go. If you can surround it on one or more sides by planting from a moist habitat, bog garden or hedgerow then that will give the amphibians greater cover and protection from birds and other predators. Amphibians return to the pond water to mate and lay eggs after hibernation on land in wood piles or under garden buildings. They will make a number of journeys in a season.
Next, the pond should be built to a depth of 2' with a number of plant shelves at different depths (6" and 12") to accomodate the different marginal plant species and the areas of water they want to colonize. The pond plants should be placed on the shelves in their baskets and the pond wildlife will use these as stepping stones to get outof the water. It is more successful if you keep the pond plants in separate baskets rather than planting them all directly into mud on the shelves as the vigorous plants will take over the entire shelf area and the less vigorous plants will be swamped.
To allow creatures such as hedgehogs a way to climb out if they should fall into the pond at least one side should be made as a sloping shelf. In between the cobbles used to cover the liner on this sloping shelf you can use pond plants that enjoy water at their roots but not too much depth of water over their crowns. You could use Caltha palustris Alba, Veronica beccabunga or Cyperus eragrostis and these will also provide habitat cover for small amphibians as they venture out of the pond on this route.
How can I build an area for moist planting or bog garden if my soil does not retain water?
You can create an area that can be kept moist or wet by digging out 2’ of soil and lining the hole with cheap lining material like builders damp proof membrane. Add 3” depth of gravel for drainage and the puncture the membrane with a fork. This will allow some drainage but keep some moisture in the soil. Refill the lined hole with good soil and humus rich compost and cut the liner off at the top so it blends into the rest of the garden. This area can then be kept as wet as you like by watering from a porous or leaky hosepipe that will constantly drip when attached to a tap or water butt. This area will provide protection for wildlife species and you will find that by encouraging frogs to the area they will protect Hosta’s and other plants eaten by slugs.