Aponogeton Distachyos – Water Hawthorn or Cape Pondweed

The water hawthorn is an excellent plant for deep-water ponds. It has attractive floating leaves that are more or less evergreen; and the vanilla-like fragrance of the blooms is powerful and lingering. After the main spring crop of blooms, plants generally collapse until late summer, when they often disappear from sight altogether, unless growing in Read more [...]
Posted in Water Garden Plants | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

Encouraging Wildlife into Your Garden Pond

In a balanced garden there should be a stable food chain of prey and predator. For example, destroying all of the greenfly in a garden will deprive ladybirds and blue tits of food. And a garden without any slugs at all is unlikely to have any frogs or toads (even if there is a pond). Low populations of most pests should be tolerated, and will help to Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds, Pond Fish, Water Garden Plants | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

Plants for the Garden Pond

The attraction of a good pond is about far more than just the water. Once the pond is installed you can grow a wonderful selection of aquatic and moisture-loving plants with colourful flowers and foliage that combine to make your pond a truly stunning feature. Not only are aquatic plants immensely ornamental, but they are also essential for creating Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds, Plants, Water Garden Plants | Tagged , , | Comments closed

How to Clean a Garden Pond

It is easier to clean a rigid sided pond than it is one with a flexible liner. With the latter there is always the risk of tearing the material as you walk on it or scrub it vigorously, particularly if the liner is ten years old or more. It can be cleaned, however, and as long as you are careful where you stand and what you do, the process you need Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds, Water Garden Plants | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

How to Make a Concrete Pond

Making a pond from poured concrete was once very common, but today you are more likely to come across pre-cast blocks built to form the frame of the pond, after which a flexible liner is used to hold the water. Making a satisfactory pond from poured concrete takes a great deal of skill, time and hard labour! Achieving the right mix, applying it correctly Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds | Tagged , | Comments closed

Flexible UPVC Liners for Garden Ponds

These are basically lengths of waterproof sheeting, enabling you to build a pond of any shape or size. More planning is required for this type of pond, and calculating the amount of liner you need is not always easy. This pond-lining material is ideal for informal schemes, since the sheeting will fit most shapes and contours, albeit with varying amounts Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

How to Install a Rigid Pond Liner

With this type of pond, the hole into which the unit will sit is crucially important. If your chosen pond is a regular or symmetrically shaped unit (square, circle, rectangle, oval, etc.), turn it upside down, and position it so that it is directly over the precise place you want the finished pond to be. Depending on the shape and size of the unit, Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Building a Garden Pond and Choosing the Right Materials

Ponds need to be watertight and, within reason, it does not matter how this is achieved. When it comes to the material used to form the base and sides of your pond, there are three main options: 1. Preformed rigid glass fibre or plastic liners 2. Flexible polythene, PVC and butyl liners 3. Concrete Advantages and disadvantages As always in gardening, Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds, Water Garden Plants | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Garden Pond Styles

A small water feature could be a pebble fountain or a half-barrel with a trickling urn, both of which are ideal accompaniments to a tiny town garden or patio area. Garden ponds, perhaps 1-2m (3-6ft) across, are what most gardeners would like to create, and these can be wonderful to observe and nurture. At the top end of the scale you could opt for a Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

Garden Ponds: Assessing Your Garden

Existing features Your garden is unique in the opportunities that it has to offer and the constraints that it might impose. So before you install your water feature, you should assess what features are already there, and how they might affect your plans. If you are planning a feature that is more complex than a basic hole in the ground filled with Read more [...]
Posted in Garden Ponds, Water Features | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed