A plethora of instructional videos for all manner of backyard wetlands, from downpipe bogs to full-blown wildlife ponds designed for amphibians. Some really great tips across the board, and complements their guide on pond plants, which contains lots of advice for British natives that work well together.
Specifically on pond plants, these are the distilled pearls of wisdom:
- Plants that grow fully or largely underwater (submerged plants) will naturally oxygenate your pond, which reduces or removes the need for pumps;
- Floating plants come in two types: rooted and truly floating. The latter can just grow on the surface of the water. Both will provide necessary shelter for insects and amphibians;
- Marginal plants grow around the edge of the pond (can be known as emergent plants) and often need their roots in the water;
- Marsh or bog plants will grow in the damp edges directly around the pond; particularly important if you are using your pond as a rainwater spill that can expand/contract.
- Both marsh and marginal plants are important for wildlife to use as cover around the pond; without these you won't see many or any amphibians and will reduce just about everything else, too;
- Ideally a mixture of all four is required for a wildlife pond;
- Aquatic compost is heavier and won't get kicked up as much;
And in terms of native plants that work well:
- Submerged: spiked water-milfoil (red flowers are sent out in spring, perfect dragonfly roosts); rigid hornwort (very good oxygenator); and water violet (favourite of water beetles, interesting purple flowers).
- Floating: water lily (though our native Nymphaea alba can overwhelm small ponds; very good for frogs); common water crowfoot (also good oxygenator and flowers are good for bees); frogbit (looks like a water lily, but no roots, so perfect for tadpoles to hide under).
- Marginals: water forget-me-not (favoured by newts for egg laying); bogbean (used by dragonflies for nesting); watermint (edible and liked by butterflies); yellow flag iris (so large it sometimes tips over pots, very good for froglets); lesser spearwort (great for smaller ponds, but can cause irritation when handled).
- Marsh: marsh marigold (early flowers for bees and hoverflies and may be an Ice Age relic); globeflower (nationally in decline, blooms later than marigolds but similar); pillwort (the only UK aquatic fern and can colonise bare mud well); brooklime (late bloomer but leaves stay all year).
Also a few to avoid as they can become invasive: water milfoil, water/fairy fern, water primrose, floating pennywort, New Zealand pygmyweed, any species of balsam, common water hyacinth, skunk cabbage, cabomba, duck potato (😂), water lettuce, and (unfortunately) gunnera.
