- Joined
- Jul 22, 2019
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 64
- Location
- Eastern Pennsylvania
- Hardiness Zone
- 6
- Country
Not quite sure if I am in the right place, but this seems the closest fit compared to the other forums I looked at.
Our pond is roughly 60x40 and is in clay soil. The pond is roughly 5 feet deep in the middle. This pond was actually formed a few years ago after we cleared brush from an area that was always wet and boggy. After the clearing two hurricanes dumped large volumes of rain which washed away a lot of soil... and suddenly we had a pond. My wife and I had wanted a pond and were planning on putting one in anyway .... so we took this as a sign for the location. We were both drawn to the idea of a natural looking pond with animals and vegetation native to the area. And most importantly, something we could sit next to and relax. I recently used a backhoe to tidy up a bit and move a few rocks around. This project has been a few years in the making.
drone pic - its a little muddy from the recent landscaping
From the start this pond was full of frogs, so my wife named it "Hopenkroak Pond" (hence my screen name.) We have a friend with multiple farm ponds who let us take some Arrowhead, Lizard Tail, Cattails and hornswort plants to get things going. We are slowly adding other plants around the border, mostly stuff we find in our woods (can't beat the price and we pretty much know the plants will thrive since they are native.) We are probably going to add a few non-native highlights like Hostas and hybrid Cornflowers.
We enjoy the visitors and residents
Recently our friend with the ponds gave us this little red eared slider (they were not originally native to the area, but pet releases have begun breeding and they are common now.)
I had hoped the pond would be big enough to attract and keep turtles - this little girl seems happy enough after a few weeks...
My wife and our Bengal cat (he LOVES sitting by the pond with us in the evenings)
The only fish are fathead minnows, which have formed large schools that zip around the pond. They know we usually toss some fish food late in the day, and they get very excited when they see us coming. We are currently researching other non-predatory native fish to introduce.
I am also hoping the the cattails will attract spring peepers, I love to hear their calls in the spring. The cattails we added are rapidly taking over the shallow area of the pond: I have high hopes for next spring!
Our pond is roughly 60x40 and is in clay soil. The pond is roughly 5 feet deep in the middle. This pond was actually formed a few years ago after we cleared brush from an area that was always wet and boggy. After the clearing two hurricanes dumped large volumes of rain which washed away a lot of soil... and suddenly we had a pond. My wife and I had wanted a pond and were planning on putting one in anyway .... so we took this as a sign for the location. We were both drawn to the idea of a natural looking pond with animals and vegetation native to the area. And most importantly, something we could sit next to and relax. I recently used a backhoe to tidy up a bit and move a few rocks around. This project has been a few years in the making.
drone pic - its a little muddy from the recent landscaping
From the start this pond was full of frogs, so my wife named it "Hopenkroak Pond" (hence my screen name.) We have a friend with multiple farm ponds who let us take some Arrowhead, Lizard Tail, Cattails and hornswort plants to get things going. We are slowly adding other plants around the border, mostly stuff we find in our woods (can't beat the price and we pretty much know the plants will thrive since they are native.) We are probably going to add a few non-native highlights like Hostas and hybrid Cornflowers.
We enjoy the visitors and residents
Recently our friend with the ponds gave us this little red eared slider (they were not originally native to the area, but pet releases have begun breeding and they are common now.)
I had hoped the pond would be big enough to attract and keep turtles - this little girl seems happy enough after a few weeks...
My wife and our Bengal cat (he LOVES sitting by the pond with us in the evenings)
The only fish are fathead minnows, which have formed large schools that zip around the pond. They know we usually toss some fish food late in the day, and they get very excited when they see us coming. We are currently researching other non-predatory native fish to introduce.
I am also hoping the the cattails will attract spring peepers, I love to hear their calls in the spring. The cattails we added are rapidly taking over the shallow area of the pond: I have high hopes for next spring!
.
