Monday 24 May 2021

Pond life



There’s nothing like the addition of water in a garden.
It brings visitors to the garden for one to enjoy; it helps nature immensely and it provides a peaceful place to sit and rest awhile after working hard outside. After all, if you can’t sit back and admire the fruits of your labours, then it’s a pretty poor show!




Our wildlife pond is about a year old…or should I say a year young! It quickly established itself last year and we were amazed to see how creatures, both big and small, found it in no time at all.



For instance, this might just look like a piece of water lettuce but underneath it are some newts! You can just about see them and, luckily, we spotted them last week as we sat with our morning drink. This was quite a thrill as we weren’t expecting to see newts in the pond so soon. Actually, we spotted one a few weeks before this, so we had an inkling that there would be a pair.



Our pond has, and is, giving us so much pleasure; it was certainly worth the hard work and toil that my other half put in, last year. It’s not a small pond and how he managed to dig it, I will never know! A mammoth task indeed! Well worth a Blue Peter Badge or similar award!



I’m also really pleased with the bank, which last year was a bare bank of soil. Nature has done its thing with the addition of a few bits that I grew from seed…mostly Ragged Robin, with which I think I’ve fallen in love! It’s delicate and delightful…and mingles so well with the daisies. The bank is a joy!





At the other side of the pond, there’s much going on. 



White Dead Nettle has appeared and has spread itself around as if to ask the Violets and the very pretty pink Primula if it’s ok to join them. Hostas are now appearing and the Greater Celandine is rampant and needs to be culled at some point. But it’s pretty, the bees and other insects like it.




A clump of Herb Bennett, also known as Wood Avens, has also appeared and that’s spreading well. It’s of the Geum family.




And in between some rocks, a little fern has appeared next to a pink Dead Nettle or Lamium.



Finally, we’ve  been patiently waiting for this yellow flag Iris to open and show itself!
Today was that day!






And other flowers are imminent! So well done that Iris!





3 comments:

  1. I want one of those in my garden - not a swimming pool for people, just a cute pond for visiting wildlife. Today we have discovered new little guys living in a drainage pipe out back - what looks like a pair of healthy Southern Leopard Frogs. Love all the wild flowers too Sal.

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  2. The pond was indeed hard work, but to me seemed so easy and so pleasurable a task.
    We wanted a wildlife pond so much.
    I believe that if you want something so much and are prepared to work for it, then you can achieve anything.
    Knowing that it now gives us daily pleasure makes the arduous efforts a dim distant memory.
    I never expected to be so richly rewarded for having created it.
    I wouldn’t have wanted a Blue Peter badge because I wouldn’t have wanted to have made two, because the presenters always stated ‘Here’s one I made earlier’
    My back cringes at that prospect.

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  3. Beautiful
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)