My garden is dominated by a rectangular patio, around which is a border with a width of around a metre. It’s not a layout that lends itself to a pond. But it has one now, and it’s had a massive impact on not only my garden’s sights and sounds, but its visitors.
I initially thought a watertight tin bath would be the best option. So, I found one on eBay, bought some aquatic plant pots, aquatic compost and pebbles, and tried to familiarise myself with pond plants. Yellow iris. That’ll do. Water plantain. Sounds… tasty? Let’s try it. Marsh marigold. Well, it’s yellow too. Water moss. Boring but, because it’s oxygenating, very important.
Marsh marigold – in its new home
The tin bath setup didn’t work. I mean, it held water and the plants liked it. But the birds didn’t. I bought some slate and tried to fashion a slope for them to use, but they weren’t having any of it. Then, stepping back, I realised the pond, sitting in the corner of the patio, looked detached from the garden. It was lost and lonely.
So, I emptied it, put some goggles on and drilled some holes in the bottom. It’s now home to some little baby garlic bulbs. I hope. Geeky design observation: it looks much more at home now. The bath’s compost blends in with the borders’ mulch, while the garlic scapes look great in front of the ferns and daffodils.
Next step: buy a 55-litre preformed polyethylene pond and lower it into a hole – 85 x 65 x 35cm, in case you’re wondering – before starting all over again. There’s nothing remotely flashy about this pond, but practically it’s really the only thing that could work in such a small space. And, my god, it fits perfectly.
Design wise, the polyethylene model is far superior to its tin predecessor. It has plant shelves (honestly, what a luxury), a central moulded recess and a wildlife escape route. The plants look like they belong there, and the pond itself looks like it belongs in my garden.
The irises and alliums are competing for a tiny amount of space
To turn it into more of a feature, I added a solar-powered fountain and a layer of Scottish pebbles around its perimeter. At the back of the pond, a thick ivy root – once buried beneath the soil – adds some structural interest, while the left-hand side is dominated by Siberian irises and alliums. On the right, I’ve planted some creeping phlox, which before long will spread over the pebbles and into the water.
Some very young creeping phlox, in front of very some primitive cat deterrents
The highlight, though, isn’t on or around the water at all. It’s about a metre and a half directly above it. As soon as spring arrived, a pair of robins built a nest in the ivy that climbs the wall behind the pond. Not only is it the safest place in the garden – somewhere the neighbours’ cats can’t reach – but they rely on the pond for drinking water (which, unlike the tin one, they can safely reach).
The entrance to the robins’ nest
Three weeks and counting until mamma robin lays her eggs…