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Pond Maintenance; quick tips for a spring spruce-up
’tis the spring, and despite an orgy of frogs, you may need to do some pond maintenance.
I’ve always been hugely into nature, from caterpillars in jam jars and escaped stick insects being allowed to eat my mum’s house plants, to digging out my own little pond and watching the waterworld develop. At this time of year, even if you had a good clear of your pond last autumn, it’s a good idea to give it a once over before spring really gets on its way.
Unfortunately, being middle of terrace in the middle of a long street, in the middle of a large suburb, I don’t get a lot of aquatic life. That being said, a solo frog has managed to find its way into my garden and has taken up residence in my pond several years running. So far it hasn’t appeared this year, so I’m waiting with baited breath and hoping it’ll reappear (though, if it’s lucky, it’s moved on and found some other froggy friends). After the last of my fish died in 2013, I gave the entire pond a complete washout (if you read regularly, my ‘pond’ is just a huge plastic container sunk into the ground), cut back the weeds and left well alone since. However, now spring’s here and things are starting to grow, there’s a few important tasks that need doing.
- Fish out any extra fallen leaves that might have collected over the winter.
- Cut back dead or dying plant material that could sour the water.
- Buy new, or cut back, oxygenating weeds, depending on its voraciousness. Particularity in small tubs, it’s a good idea to have oxygenating weed to maintain a healthy eco-system. This might need topping up with fresh plant material, or cutting back depending on last year’s growth.
- Top up water levels if required. In large ponds its not normally possible to fill with distilled water. However, with smaller tubs, fill a few buckets of water and let them sit outside for 24/36 hours. This will not only allow them to match the ambient temperature, but additions, such as chlorine, can be allowed to escape.
- Check pond filters and pumping solutions. In my tub I have a little solar-powered fountain, and the filter often needs a quick clear out, whilst the solar panel needs a wipe down. You might think that using pumps for a water feature is a hassle, but there are lots of companies who can install and help maintain equipment, allowing you to get on with the gardening and enjoy the sound of water in your oasis.
- Ensure steep-sided ponds have escape routes for wildlife. One of my clients has an old bathtub sunk into her garden as a pond. The steep sides make it perilous for nature, and despite my efforts to grow plants around the edges to act as a bridge, there’s been a couple of drowned creatures. To avoid this, provide banks of stones or wood at the edges, and use water planting (both in and out of the pond) to give extra escape routes.
I adore ponds and water features in a garden. They make such a vast difference to the entire ambiance of an outside space. And, whether you’ve got a huge reservoir or a tiny tub pond, a quick spruce-up this weekend will ensure you have nothing to do later in the year other than enjoy the buzz of dragonflies and the babble of water.
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