The Pond
Adding some greenery to the pond
Each of the four different habitats within the pond area (pond, marsh, meadow and lawn) will support different types of plants – pond plants, marsh plants, meadow plants and grasses. These will help to provide food and shelter for a wide range of insects and other animals.
The pond and marsh area were planted two weeks after the pond was filled. This allowed the water to settle and gave any chemicals in the tap water (like chlorine) time to evaporate.
The meadow area (the raised bank behind the pond) was sown with a fine grass seed mixture. Once this had germinated and grown for a while, a number of wildflower ‘plugs’ were planted. These are very small, young plants that have been raised from seed in a nursery – this is generally a more effective way of establishing a meadow over a small area than from seed.
When we had finished, the whole area still looked quite bare! However, a little patience would be well rewarded…