The making of a tiny pond

 It's the must have accessory of the year, a tiny pond. Even the BBC  say so. 

Make a tiny pond even if you only have a tiny garden. You can do it in a weekend at minimal cost. I’ve been reliably informed that it takes about a year for frogs to move in, and that adding tadpoles is not a good idea. So now we wait.

Here’s what I bought:

Bucket £1.50 (Screwfix)I bought a black 14L builders bucket. You can get them anywhere, even Amazon.

Solar pump (optional)  £12.99 (Amazon) There are various types with various power at various prices, but this is the one I bought.

Tiny ramp £7.71 (You could make your own, this one was from Amazon)

Pond plants £13 for two – local aquatic specialist.The two I chose were Red Stemmed Parrot Feather, and Barred Horsetail.

Total £35 ish

 You’ll also need – a tool to dig a hole.

 

I dug a hole the size of the bucket. This is surprisingly hard work because you can’t really use a big spade unless you make the hole wider and back-fill it. I wanted to have the pond in the lawn and keep the lawn around it so I just used a trowel to make the hole the right size, depth, and shape. 

I used a hot skewer to remove the bucket handle, buckets vary so you might be lucky and have one where the handle just pops out. I didn’t.

Popped the bucket in the hole.

I washed some gravel (I had some that I use for potting up plants) it was very dusty and took a lot of rinsing! Then added an inch or so as a layer at the bottom of the pond. No idea if this is essential I just felt it would give a natural bottom.

I added an upturned flower pot as a raised area for a plant. You could also use a brick.

I added the ramp which also doubled as a place to fix the pond pump. The pump had a filter made of sponge but the holes in it were huge, so I cut a finer sponge and popped that in as a filter instead. Trial and error with fountain heads led me to go with no sprinkle attachment at all, just a bubbling bit of water. Still moves the water and seems more natural. But it’s just preference.

I added two pond plants one for the base of the pond, a true underwater plant, and one for the top of the flower pot, an edge plant. I chose Red Stemmed Parrot Feather, and Barred Horsetail.  but there are lots to choose from.

I didn’t have rain water to fill the pond, but the watering cans in the garden were standing around for weeks so the water wasn’t fresh from the tap. I filled the pond, adjusted everything a bit, added a rock to weight down the ramp at one end, and switched on the pump and left it to it. The water cleared after a few hours. I have added some bits and bobs around the edge. You can buy fancy rocks if that’s your thing. The plants have shown growth after only a week!

 

Total time – one morning. Total cost - £35 ish. Value to nature - priceless 

 

Inspired by Tiktok 

 

 

@plant_daddyuk Exciting mini wildlife pond update We have new life! #wildlife #wildlifepond #pond #minipond #nature #biodiversity #frog #tadpoles #garden #gardening #gardentok #life #newlife ♬ sonido original - DiegoVegaSoria