Around 10 years ago my husband Pete dug out our garden pond by hand. I can still see him in my mind's eye with his spade at 9.00 o'clock in the evening sometimes. First the pond looked like a big hole in the ground lined with plastic which is what it was, and none of the expensive water plants we had bought seemed to take easily.
We began to wonder if we had made a mistake having such a big pond when it turned green and slimy but we wanted to encourage wildlife and knew it takes time and patience to get a pond balanced and water plants thriving.
Very gradually the plants which survived began to establish themselves and we found newts had laid their eggs and dragonflies were beginning to dart over the surface. One day we saw a big grass snake swimming across the surface and noticed our frog numbers go down dramatically. The lilies began to bloom and the various plants I had gratefully received from others clearing out their ponds or picked up for a few pounds by the side of the road began to create the magic which is a thriving wildlife pond in a garden.
The planting around the outside of the pond was very much trial and error. I knew I wanted to create good cover should we be lucky enough to attract ducks or grebes to breed so found trees or shrubs which hang over the pond, always looking for a bargain again from roadside stalls and cut price areas of garden centres. The pink tamarisk you can see in the collage was a big success but the hundreds of Dutch irises which looked spectacular around the pond in early Spring in their first year gradually reduced over the years, probably eaten by small mammals or just not too keen on our soil. The white rose behind the rock rose near the Jetty Pete built, cost just 99p as a dried up dry rooted one in the bargain basket of a supermarket.
We began to get pairs of mallards visiting our garden each Spring around 4 years ago and last year we were thrilled to see a moorhen baby peering at us through the reeds. The mother and baby disappeared the next day however.
This year we were finally rewarded by the mallard duck raising a brood of ducklings on our pond and it has been magical to watch them grow from tiny aquatic bumble bees to the three nearly fully feathered versions of their parents. Their numbers reduced from five to three sadly and they have braved many adventures on the way. Mother duck has raised them alone and has watched over them so patiently throughout.
Kim
A foxy surprise 
Walk in a park near me!
Are we the night watchers?
