Our Garden Pond

Remember this - this picture was taken on the 1st August last year….

this one was taken today just 10 months on….you can see why you should always dig the largest pond you can as it can soon get eaten away by plants.  I am delighted to say that it is teaming with Common Newts which have been egg laying and we hope now to have an invasion of dragonflies!  It hasn’t been a relaxing time watching the pond develop as for the last 3 months we have had to have a large net over the whole area to keep the local Mallard ducks out.  We know from experience that they would eat everything including all plants and newts so it has only been within the last couple of days that we feel safe to remove the net in the hope that the ducks have finished their spring philandering's and have hot footed it back to the Park.

So unfortunately I haven’t been able to take photos through the spring when the Marsh Marigolds, Snake Head Frittilaries, Water Avens and Cuckoo Flower were in full bloom…

We have a bit of a problem with Duck Weed (probably brought in by the Ducks!) and are finding it difficult to control as when we try to net it out it is clinging to pond weed which is full of baby Newts so we are just going to leave it for now until the autumn when all the newts should have left the pond.

Insect life has been busy even with a net on with up to 20 Whirlygig Beetles, Pond Skaters, Great Diving Beetle…
Plants are doing well with most surviving from the old pond and soon we will have Purple Loosestrife, Meadow Sweet, Gypsywort, Flowering Rush, Water Plantain, Water Forget-me-not, Bistort and Water Mint all in flower.

Bistort Superba


The plant we were most happy to see survive was this Royal Fern mixed in with Devils-Bit Scabious.