Help needed with teeny pond!

[bobbin]

Oh dear, not many folk seem to look at this part of the site, but here goes.
I have been given a belfast sink which MOH has dug into my allotment for me, however
I am at a loss as what to grow around it to offer a bit of shade colour and interest..
So far we have a 6inch border of slatey stuffaropund it to deter weeds and to give a bit of scramble space for any critters wanting to escape and stones underneath the sink to avoid possible waterlogging. Its such a small "pond" I do not really seem to be able to formulate a good plan. I also have an oval tin tub to sink and plant up so any advice would be welcome.confused:
What is really sad is that I am so excited about this teeny space The thought of bugs frogs etc wanting to live there is great. I have not picked a great time of year though have I?( should I contact an estate agent.....hmm medication time maybe:
looking forward to any response

[craftymarie]

As you said it's possibly not the best time of year - would have thought early spring would be to attract frogs and wildlife emerging after the cold weather - but don't be discouraged

I have 2 very tiny "ponds" if you can call them that. One is now just a washing up bowl (used to be planter but broke) and the other a shallow plastic planter and we've got a handful of frogs in the garden that seem happy with that arrangement.

I don't have any plants in mine so I can't comment on that. But I made sure to put stones and things in the bowls and around them. Basically you want to ensure that wildlife can get in and out easily.

Because I don't have plants, I do empty the water periodically and refill with rainwater from the water butts. I had to do this more often in summer to keep it clean although froggies don't mind it being less than clean.

We've also got upturned ceramic plant pots over bricks where the frogs sleep/rest etc and lots of mulch and mud in that area for them to bury themselves in and hide from potential predators.

Here's a pic of the current set-up. It's all in a corner which is mostly shady although I put shading over when we had that really hot heatwave in the summer. I will be adding more plants there next year.



Here's one of the foggies:

[Verinda]

Maybe this Springwatch video will help with some ideas

BBC Two - Springwatch, Attract some pond life

[Guest]

I had a gravel/rockery thing round my old little pond (an old loft/header tank) then a few old broken pots and a small wood pile but they never used them they hid in the compost heap and under the water butt instead. Make sure you have something sturdy in the sink so hedgehogs and mice can get out if they fall in

[Kirk]

Add some rocks in the sink and tub so that anything that falls in can climb out via the rocks.

[Jungle Jane]

I think it was a toad that used to visit mine,it wasn't smooth like a frog & there was a newt too. My neighbours had a huge pond so I'd see baby frogs jumping around the garden edge too,had to be careful cutting the grass. This toad was always hiding behind the plant that was in the water,I'd find it there when I pulled the grass to one side,poking it's head out above the water,standing there for ages (can't remember the name of the plant but it looks like grass). They must like green plants for the camouflage & obviously like being able to rest on the ledge. Could you have a ledge on the inside of the pond? My water feature,its not really a pond is about 7 inches deep x 2 foot wide,with pebbles at the bottom,its not very deep. Im wondering how deep the sink is? Some evergreen perennials would be nice around the outside,for dense coverage,with bulbs for early colour? Birds would like a log or something to land on to get close to the water without falling in,logs are good for frogs too.

[Philthy]

An aunt of mine years ago had a washing up bowl sunk into her lawn. Just like that. No planting around it that I recall, other than the grass. And every spring it was teeming with randy frogs, literally standing room only!

We've got a mini pond in the front garden, diameter of a sink in size but still pond liner in a hole. It's at the bottom of a small slope, and a lined channel ensures it gets the rain runoff from further up. There are several bricks in the bottom, with gaps and crevices between them for critters to hide in. Planting is just a dwarf lily (think it's still there), and it's mostly covered by duckweed which grows over the pond edges and merges with the surrounding planting. It is in the shadow of the house and overhead shrubs most of the time.
It's practically zero maintenance. In summer it needs topping up now and then if it's hot, otherwise there's just the retrieval of the odd crisp packet that blows down from the road to contend with! The few leaves that find their way in during autumn are left to break down.
Now the pond is established there's enough of an eco-system in there to sustain a small goldfish with no supplementary feeding necessary.
We get frogs now and again. They don't breed in there that I've noticed, but if they're not cooling off in the water there's usually one nearby.

I think the main reason this mini pond works so well is the shading it gets. Never any green water. No algae. Water level drops in summer but never fast enough to cause a problem before the low level has been noticed.

One of my neighbours has an equally small pond in his back garden; it's fenced on three sides and paved on the other, and yet frogs have managed to seek it out and get in there, even crossing the no-mans-land of cat territory and zero cover. Remarkable really

[DannyK]

It's certainly worth getting a couple of small goldfish to keep mosquitoes in check. They won't grow bigger in a small pond.

If you have to top up use rain water as tap water is not good for wild life and encourages algae.

[dogsbody]

Marsh marigold around the edge / in the boggy area if you have one will look good and multiply nicely. Be careful of putting anything too prolific into the pond itself but a pond with plants will attract wildlife faster and better than an empty one.

If you are lucky enough to get frogspawn in the early years (please don't take it from the wild) don't be disappointed in the net couple of years as it takes 3 years for frogs to mature ad return to sawn again.

Whatever you do, enjoy it and take the time to sit and watch now and again.