Build a Wildlife  Pond

A good reason for having a water feature in your garden is because it vastly increases the range of wildlife you will attract. Frogs, newts and dragonflies may come to live with you. Birds will be pleased to find water for food in the form of the insects it attracts, also for bathing (particularly in the winter months).

Beware of letting your pond become a death trap but ensure there are places where frogs for instance can get out. Provide shallow places for drinking without risk of wildlife falling in and marginal plants for insects to crawl up and out of the water. One third of the surface area should be allocated to planting such marginals where the water depth should be about 12 ". The middle of the pond should be at least 2ft deep to allow insects to hibernate.

The best time for pond management is in early January when few insects are active and trees have largely completed their leaf fall. Don't try to be too tidy but leave alone the deeper areas where blanket weed harbours minute insect life and snails hide. Clean the area around marginals removing all dead leaves (composting the debris).

If you would like fish avoid goldfish/ carp as they may feed on your wildlife. Try instead for Rudd, minnows or sticklebacks.

We are very grateful to Mike Birch from Mickfield Fish Centre for his friendly advice on this topic. He is helping us plant up such a water feature suitable for even the smallest garden and supplying information on suitable planting for in and around ponds. Come to the show and see all this.

Mike recommends the super book by Steve Parker, Pond and River‑ In Association with the Natural History Museum. It is an EYE WITNESS GUIDE published by Dorling Kindersley (1988). This has high quality illustrations and is reasonably priced at £8.99.