Even just a little pond can make a massive difference to the variety of wildlife you can attract to your garden. Think frogs, newts, dragonflies, birds and even hedgehogs! If you are a new or prospective pond owner, then you might want to check out our guide to the best pond pumps.
Frogs
Let’s start with the classic pond animal, the frog. Everyone assumes that if they build it, they will come, but this is not always the case. If you are mightily struggling to attract frogs to your pond here are some steps you can take.
Frogs need sheltered areas where they can hide from potential predators, make sure you have plenty of plants and shaded areas in your pond. Adding an area of plants around the edge of your pond will help to attract frogs. You shouldn’t have to work too hard to attract frogs as they do require water to breed tadpoles.
Dragonfly
When it comes to attracting dragonfly to your pond, it is all about submerged, emergent and water surface plants. Submerged plants are great for providing cover and a safe place for emerging dragonfly larvae to grow. Floating surface plants such as lilies are also essential for dragonfly; the female dragonflies require floating plants for them to lay their eggs. The female dragonfly will lay their eggs on the underside of floating foliage.
Birds
Many bird species will visit your new pond to both bathe and drink, and you don’t need to do much to attract them. However, small changes can make a significant change in how safe your pond is for birds. Ensure you have shallow areas for birds to bathe along with low hanging branches. If you are planning on having fish in your pond, then not all birds are welcome. Check out the RSPB’s advice on protecting against Heron’s here.
Newts
Newts require ponds to reproduce, this is down to the simple fact that they like to lay their eggs on pond plants. There are some pond plants they like more than others, good ones to include in your pond are watercress, reeds & flote-grass.