The Pond Takes Shape

My new wildlife pond is on schedule and should be completed, at least to a functioning level (if not a thing of beauty yet), by Saturday 7th August. On that date I'm re-homing a swathe of newts, frogs and invertebrates that are being displaced when the landlord of a friend removes their pond.

Steps 1 & 2:


Steps 3 & 4:


I cannot begin to describe how excited I am. I have wanted a wildlife pond since I was a little girl, catching tadpoles from the local ditch to keep in a tank. My parents weren't so pleased about the hundreds of froglets that escaped all over the garden, getting in the veg patch and scaring my Auntie. I don't think a pond was ever really in their idea of a garden, let alone a wildlife one left to be messy and natural. With the 15-20 year old Cherry Tree at the end of the garden space was limited, but it sadly died (from unknown causes) and been removed. Redesigning options became available, leaving space for a pond at last! Something good coming from the death of a beloved and beautiful tree.

Our original plan was to place the pond next to the new shed at the end of the garden, but it felt too out-of-the-way. We've now decided to put our pond in a prime location next to the deck so we can watch it in comfort, though I suspect I'll spend most of my time laying on the ground with my nose (and camera) a few centimetres off the surface. It was scary having to dig out loads of beautiful established herbaceous perennials and find new spaces for them, and sadly a few haven't made it, but any excuse to go and buy more is welcome! I managed to see a lot of cool species when digging the deep hole too, including several species of centipede, beetles, worms, various larvae, harvestmen etc.

So excited!