New pond in garden makeover

[Stitchercathy]

Hi all! I have a slightly large garden (80 ft long) and during my husband’s fight with cancer the whole plot got totally out of hand. I’m not an experienced gardener but decided to makeover the garden with wildlife in mind. The new pond is 1.5 metres across, roughly round and a metre deep in the middle. There are no oxygenating plants in it at the moment, and the water has turned green, with a nasty scum of algae on the surface. I’m working on it!
I have employed a small (tiny!) firm of garden designers to do the makeover, but I had to ask them what to do about the pond while we are waiting for plants.
I want to see lots of frogs and other small vertebrates, as well as dragonflies and bigger invertebrates, which used to come to a tiny mud hole of an excuse for a pond that was there for the past twenty years or so!
Hoping to gain lots of knowledge from other pond people!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

Hope your husband, is doing ok!

Get some water movement, if you have none, add a bog filter, pea gravel, water and plants. You will end up with healthy water and a wet lands filter for planting water loving plants that grow like weeds.

Bog building, also called upflow filter, eco filter, wetland filter

I was asked to start a thread on how to build a bog. This is my rendition on bog building 101............. Building a bog: Before you decide to build a bog, you need to know what you want its primary purpose to be. Total pond filtration bog filtration combined with another filter. If you...

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[TheFishGuy]

would definitely agree with addy1, a bog would be the most cost efficient, most effective, and would allow you to have some beautiful ( and sometimes functional ) plants!

 

[j.w]

@Stitchercathy

 

[Stitchercathy]

Welcome to the forum!

Hope your husband, is doing ok!

Get some water movement, if you have none, add a bog filter, pea gravel, water and plants. You will end up with healthy water and a wet lands filter for planting water loving plants that grow like weeds.

Bog building, also called upflow filter, eco filter, wetland filter

I was asked to start a thread on how to build a bog. This is my rendition on bog building 101............. Building a bog: Before you decide to build a bog, you need to know what you want its primary purpose to be. Total pond filtration bog filtration combined with another filter. If you...

www.gardenpondforum.com

Hi,
It’s not possible to get movement. I’m a bit fed up with the ‘designers’ actually, because they were supposed to be giving me a wildlife garden, but one of the first things they did was drench it in weed killer, after almost thirty years of me being completely organic. They said the way to get rid of the algae was to use a chemical. I bought one that was supposed to be safe for all plants, fish , etc. it causes the algae to clump and sink to the bottom. I’m hoping that when I get plants in, things will balance and I won’t need the chemical, but I ordered oxygenators and other plants about a month ago and there’s no sign of the order being delivered yet.

 

[addy1]

I use no chemicals in our ponds or yards. We raise bees, feed critters, birds, have beneficial bugs, want no harm to come to all.

Plants will help with the balance.

 

[JamieB]

Where are you located? I’d suggest you travel around your neighborhood , find a garden you like, and talk to the home owner. If they use a service, switch, otherwise perhaps they’d be willing to help you learn how to do your garden how you want yourself. A lot of services push chemicals for speed and big effects. They don’t take into account that home owners might want more natural methods. If you do decide to take over doing the garden yourself, start by removing dead and unwanted plants. Then plant grass, preferably native ones, and put in the plants you do want.
As for the pond, net out the debris, remove all gunk out of the bottom, and if you’ve got algae issues, try peroxide. It will kill the algae but won’t harm the fish ( if any) or the plants. Setting up a bog filter will reduce any algae later on. Fill it with any plants you can that love water, mint, iris, calla lillies, sweet flag, rushes. The bog can wait if you’re not sure about one, but it will attract more wildlife, and is low maintenance, reduces the cost of upkeep later on, and preventing needs for chemicals. It will mesh very well with your desire to do things naturally.