Wealden Times | WT194 | April 2018 | Garden supplement inside

WT Garden Supplement
Animal magic
Creating a pond in your garden will bring in wonderful wildlife says Sue Whigham
The big chill of February and
March were very unkind to my
lovely little water lily (Pygmaea
rubra) that has spent eight years in a
large copper in one of my flower beds.
Hibernating plants like that won’t survive
a cold spell if the water freezes over
completely. And, oh boy, it did.
But I won’t be giving up on water
plants and the other things that make a
garden attractive to wildlife. To increase
the number and variety of animal species
around you the essentials are: trees,
plants and shrubs that produce seed
heads and berries, deadwood, areas of
unstrimmed long grass and – most of
all – water.
It seems that one in ten British gardens
has some sort of a pond, making about
two million in total. They provide a vital
network of ‘wetland habitats’ throughout
our ever-expanding urban areas. The
combination of what seems like frenzied
house building on green fields and
climate change means a significant loss of
wildlife havens, but we can all do our bit
to ameliorate this.
It doesn’t even matter if we have
limited space, as even a balcony, roof
terrace or patio can accommodate some
sort of water gardening. All you need
is a watertight container which is deep
enough to give aquatic plants some space
and ensures that the temperature of the
water doesn’t fluctuate too much when
things warm up in the summer.
Something pretty like a copper, an old
galvanised container or ceramic pot is
lovely, but you can also use something
cheap and perhaps not so beautiful like
a bin or large plastic tub and sink it into
the ground. This has the advantage of
keeping the water cool in summer and
protects from freezing – with a bit of
luck – in the winter.
I think spring is the ideal time to
set up a new pond and an informal
arrangement is best for wildlife. In a
perfect world you would choose a sunny
site, away from overhanging trees, with
shallow edges that allow animals easy
access to the water.
If your site is on the shady side
you’ll find different inhabitants setting
up home than if you have the pond
somewhere brighter and warmer. The
best ponds have gently shelving edges
25 wealdentimes.co.uk