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    My cottage garden pond


    April 25th, 2023 - Popular posts, Spring gardening, Tips and inspiration

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    I’m writing to show you my cottage garden pond and how I’ve been fiddling about with it lately.  A small pond is a lovely thing to have in any garden and there’s advice about them everywhere.

    We have had frogs and frogspawn in the past but sadly I’ve seen none now for years. I’m hoping the revamp will encourage wildlife to return. You can see how it looked in 2018 here

    I emptied the pond in February

    by stabbing a few holes in the liner to let the water drain out and then digging the hole a bit deeper in the middle.  It’s still only around 30cms deep.

    remaking the cottage garden pond

    A little deeper in the middle

    I relined it and filled it with old pond water and lots of rain water I’d collected.

    new pond liner and old pond water

    New pond liner and old pond water

    I put stones all around it and thought it looked rather fab.

    However a pond expert

    politely suggested this wasn’t a good idea as the stone edges were a barrier to creatures getting in and out.  They look nice but are not as natural and as wildlife friendly as planting would be.  I could understand that so I took away most stones and now you can see the edge of the liner sticking up.   Stones in the pond are fine and provide hiding places for creatures as well as different levels in the water.

    There also seems to be someone on frog watch.

    newly made cottage garden pond

    looking good

    I’ve decided to plant around the edge to cover the lining so there will be a green seamless circle round the pond.

    Planting

    I’ve planted  ferns, astrantias and epimediums to start with.

    ferns around a cottage garden pond

    Ferns as edging

    I found two newts in the sludge so fingers crossed.

    At first the water was lovely and clear until the sun came out and then it turned into pea soup.

    pea soup pond

    Sunlight turns the water into pea soup

    That was solved by throwing in a straw bundle from the garden centre and some oxygenating plants from Amazon.  I also bought pond plants from www.lincspplants.co.uk   It has taken a week for the water to turn from green to a natural murky brown.

    Clear pond water

    Pond water slowly clearing

    As days pass the pond becomes clearer so I can now see through the water .

    cottage garden pond

    Stones piled up in the corner for creatures to climb in and out

    How it looks today

    I’m very happy with it and will give it time for the planting to cover the liner edge.

    Thanks for reading and have a lovely Spring.  Leave your email above if you would like to subscribe to my blog, usually about one a month.

    And lastly, exciting news

    There is a lovely article and super photos of my garden in the May edition of  Garden Answers magazine 

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    12 comments on "My cottage garden pond"

    1. Paddy Tobin says:
      25th April 2023 at 1:37 pm

      It will continue to be an area of great interest in the garden – for the gardener and the many creatures which visit.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        25th April 2023 at 4:26 pm

        Yes I’m sure it will. Thanks so much for commenting.

        Reply
    2. Lorna says:
      25th April 2023 at 5:25 pm

      Looks great Julie 😊

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        25th April 2023 at 9:03 pm

        Thankyou Lorna, thanks for commenting. Best wishes, Julie

        Reply
    3. Sara Browne says:
      26th April 2023 at 11:34 am

      Oh I do hope the frogs return to this lovely new home! I’ve had toads in our garden for years but not seen any signs yet this year.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        28th April 2023 at 9:41 am

        Me too. I squint at the water every day looking for life. Interestingly the water clears more and more with the days and with the oxygenating plants I put in I guess. Thankyou so much for your comment and fingers crossed for us both. Julie.

        Reply
    4. Mr k.powell says:
      26th April 2023 at 4:17 pm

      Hi Julie,

      Lots of creatures will benefit from your pond, looks fantastic.
      We have two small wildlife ponds here in Stanmore, haven’t seen amphibians yet,been in, a couple of years.
      Unfortunately I think it’s the cats 🙁.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        28th April 2023 at 9:44 am

        Oh Thankyou so much. I too have cats but the pond expert I follow on SM has cats too and he has hundreds of newts and frogs. I’m quite envious. We can only hope but anyway, a pond is a lovely addition in a garden isn’t it even if it’s not teeming with frogs. Best wishes and thanks for your comment. Julie.

        Reply
    5. Suzanne Lucero says:
      3rd May 2023 at 4:48 pm

      Thanks for showing that a water feature doesn’t have to take up much space. Also, the difference between just lining a hole and filling it with water, and adding oxygenating plants, rocks, and a bit of landscaping is amazing. You did a stellar job refurbishing your pond and I’m sure the local small wildlife will appreciate it.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        6th May 2023 at 9:19 pm

        Thankyou so much for such an encouraging comment – the pond is getting clearer every day with the plants in it so no more pea soup. It’s looking great and I add bits of rotten wood around the edges when I can find it. Very best wishes and thank you for commenting.

        Reply
    6. Andy Cronshaw says:
      4th June 2024 at 6:39 pm

      This is looking really good, I am sure you have had lots of wildlife appearing already! 20mm shingle is good to use at the edges of ponds, especially if you mix it with alpine compost or clay subsoil and plant with marginals. It is quite cheap (usually sold for making concrete) has enough weight to hold down a liner and can be crossed by frogs and newts. You can mix the larger cobbles in too, try to form gentle slopes. Inspect bags before purchase if possible, look for bags with nice rounded pebbles and few broken sharp pieces.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        14th June 2024 at 9:08 pm

        Thankyou Andy that’s lots of good ideas which I really like. thankyou so much for commenting. Julie

        Reply

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