An Uncommon Outdoor Pond: Building A Wildlife Pond
Pond building is a difficult but rewarding task that has found a place in the hearts of many home gardeners. There is a unique joy that can only be found when creating and cultivating a balanced ecosystem of plants and aquatic life in the comfort of your own backyard.
Most home pond builders build clinical ponds. They just have a ditch filled with water, add in some plants, fish and a pump for good measure. It’s clean and safe, but if you think about it, it’s nothing more than a fish-inhabited swimming pool. Although there are many water garden enthusiasts, few ever want to make more than a simple, manageable backyard pond.
Every once in a while though, you’ll find an enterprising pond builder who goes against the flow and builds their own wildlife pond.
What Makes a Wildlife Pond
What makes a pond a true wildlife pond? The keyword is life! It is like a natural living thing, an ecosystem capable of keeping itself alive for years. Even the water is full of life.Unlike the clean and clear filtered water of a clinical pond, the water of a wild life pond is “dirty” yet nutrient rich water. Shortly after you finish it, your wildlife pond will transform your backyard into your own personal bog.
Wildlife ponds attract dozens and dozens of insects, birds and other creatures. If you pay close attention, you’ll find that it’s easy to control the pond environment and in so doing, control the organisms that live in your pond!
But how do you start your wildlife pond? The basics are important of course. Build the pond with sloping banks. Line it with natural rocks. Make sure that it receives ample sunlight and shade. All these contribute to the pond’s effectiveness, but it’s still missing one element; the water.
And last but not least, the most important ingredient to making your pond as lively as can be: water from a naturally occurring pond. Just take a quick road trip, find a natural pond and take a bit of water. When you get home, add that water to your own pond. It may not sound like much, but that bit of water makes all the difference.
Phases of Pond Life
So what exactly grows in a wildlife pond? The first members of your pond community will usually be bugs. Drawn by the rich water, dragonflies and other insects will soon find their way into your pond.
Of course, this does have a drawback.
Never fear! Mixing a couple of snails into the mix takes care of some of the mosquitoes that will inevitably spawn in your pond. It’s not enough to really limit the pest population, but that’s where the next part comes in.
As soon as the insect population starts growing, insect predators will start to appear. Frogs, newts and toads will move in to your pond, snacking on the bugs and the bug eggs. They add diversity to your pond life and also serve as natural pest control.
A wildlife pond is a lot messier than a traditional outdoor pond, but maybe that’s just the challenge you need. It’s a rare pond idea that can reward you with a pond that espouses harmony and peace. A place full of life, beauty and balance that’s right outside your window.
Looking for some ideas and inspiration for your outdoor pond, then visit pond-building-mastery.com to find essential tutorials, know-how and tips about pond building.
Tags: backyard design, backyard ideas, backyard pond, building a pond, fish pond, garden, Gardening, outdoor pond, pond, pond building, pond design, water garden, water gardening, WildlifeNovember 26 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »