Want to build a garden pond?
Is it for fish, wildlife, aquatic plants or as a focal point?
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- focal point
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- fish pond
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- planted garden pond
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- wildlife in garden ponds
The site and style of your garden pond:
- Why you want a pond in your garden will influence the style of your pond and its position within the garden
- A wildlife pond will be a more informal shape and further down the garden in a quiet area
- A fish pond likely to be a more formal shaped pond, possibly raised up not dug down, and nearer the house.
- Swimming ponds allow you to join the wildlife in the water habitat you have created.
Considerations:
- 1. Safety - A raised pond may be safer for children. It will give an edge for an elderly person to sit on when working on the pond.
Safety of children is paramount when dealing with water. You can purchase an ornate pond cover made in steel that will allow plant growth beneath. See Creative pond covers - 2. Electricity - for pumps, filters, waterfalls or fountains. Employ a registered electrician and lay the feed in early in the dig.
- 3. Avoid underground services - sewers, pipes, cables! Find their route first.
- 4. Shade - The pond should not be in a part of the garden in the shade from trees to avoid leaf fall into the water. Choose a spot with about 6 hours sunshine a day if you want waterlilies and Iris to flower. A pond in part shade from a building allows the water to remain cooler and the pond will be less likely to have algae bloom. A shaded pond is planted with foliage interest plants - structural shaped foliage and seed heads and some flowering plants.