- Joined
- Feb 27, 2020
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 31
- Country
Greetings, all!
I’ve been a wildlife gardener for about 20 years, but until now only relied on bowls and basins for watering the creatures, which is a daily duty to refill.
After relocating to zone 7b and finding green tree frog tadpoles in a kiddie pool that didn’t yet make it into storage two years ago, and then again last year, I decided to go ahead and construct a small pond especially for the purpose on the northern side of my property — the only area that will have a minimal amount of overhead debris to deal with and no black walnuts (much swearing).
About that: I was going to build a larger natural pond in the back (eastern exposure) next to my woodland lot, to blend with the cottontail, ratsnake and box turtle-friendly garden, but then learned about juglone and how I was not going to be able to win the battle against two mature black walnut trees on either side of the garden; these trees make relaxing in the area impossible during late summer and autumn (large falling nuts) and also pollute the water features with leaf-fall...
At this point I’ve just finished the pit, packed the clay, placed the 35 gallon pre-formed liner in the ground (and set up a safety exit of rocks for anything that might fall in) while I work out the details of flagstone and planting around it. The pond itself has the beginnings of a small bog area and will offer oxygenating plants, varying depths of water and an area for sunning, sheltering, and escape. The site is set in part shade, which worked well for the other accidental ‘pond’.
I’m planning on incorporating a gentle, small stone aerator for the tadpoles, but no filter/pump. Unfortunately I have clay silt muddying the pond, so may need to empty and refill with rainwater if I can’t adequately skim enough out by hand; I know most sediment will settle, but right now it looks like coffee with cream and is making me twitchy.
When that’s a bit further along and clarified, I’ll post an image.
We’ll continue to see freezing temperatures until mid-April, so I don’t anticipate many terrestrial creatures visiting until springtime, and that kiddie pool is still set up (with perennial grass and hornwort, rocks and safe leaf debris) behind my garage for any earlier breeding.
I’ll be mulling through the forum specifically for aquatic plant recommendations and fellow wildlife/amphibian enthusiasts, as that will be my primary focus.
I’m very glad to have found this site. Thanks for having me. : )
I’ve been a wildlife gardener for about 20 years, but until now only relied on bowls and basins for watering the creatures, which is a daily duty to refill.
After relocating to zone 7b and finding green tree frog tadpoles in a kiddie pool that didn’t yet make it into storage two years ago, and then again last year, I decided to go ahead and construct a small pond especially for the purpose on the northern side of my property — the only area that will have a minimal amount of overhead debris to deal with and no black walnuts (much swearing).
About that: I was going to build a larger natural pond in the back (eastern exposure) next to my woodland lot, to blend with the cottontail, ratsnake and box turtle-friendly garden, but then learned about juglone and how I was not going to be able to win the battle against two mature black walnut trees on either side of the garden; these trees make relaxing in the area impossible during late summer and autumn (large falling nuts) and also pollute the water features with leaf-fall...
At this point I’ve just finished the pit, packed the clay, placed the 35 gallon pre-formed liner in the ground (and set up a safety exit of rocks for anything that might fall in) while I work out the details of flagstone and planting around it. The pond itself has the beginnings of a small bog area and will offer oxygenating plants, varying depths of water and an area for sunning, sheltering, and escape. The site is set in part shade, which worked well for the other accidental ‘pond’.
I’m planning on incorporating a gentle, small stone aerator for the tadpoles, but no filter/pump. Unfortunately I have clay silt muddying the pond, so may need to empty and refill with rainwater if I can’t adequately skim enough out by hand; I know most sediment will settle, but right now it looks like coffee with cream and is making me twitchy.
When that’s a bit further along and clarified, I’ll post an image.
We’ll continue to see freezing temperatures until mid-April, so I don’t anticipate many terrestrial creatures visiting until springtime, and that kiddie pool is still set up (with perennial grass and hornwort, rocks and safe leaf debris) behind my garage for any earlier breeding.
I’ll be mulling through the forum specifically for aquatic plant recommendations and fellow wildlife/amphibian enthusiasts, as that will be my primary focus.
I’m very glad to have found this site. Thanks for having me. : )