Pond

As mentioned in the last post, creating a pond has been on my to-do list for quite some time and last weekend I finally got around to doing it.

Here’s a pic of the pond site beforehand.  It’s on the eastern wall between some existing trees and up against the fence which includes the neighbours shed.  It’s therefore got good shelter all round, dappled morning sunlight and full afternoon sunlight:-

Note that big pile of dirt (actually it’s mostly old concrete).  I had previously had to dig that up from the west fence area in order to plant the apples and macadamia there.  In the end it came in very handy as the base for the pond.  I must say I always get a kick out of finding uses for stuff that’s just lying around.

Here’s a pic of the same pile of dirt forming the edge of the pond:-

From there, it was simply a matter of laying down the lining.  I had two different types of liner. One was some thin rubber courtesy of my father (who owns a rubber lining business) and the other was some pond liner I picked up at Bunnings.  You just lay the liner in place and hold the edges down with stones, wood etc.

Next you fill it with water. The thing to note is to make sure you use rainwater.  If you don’t have rainwater catchments, you can use tapwater but it’s best to leave it sit for about a week in the sun.  The chlorine isn’t good for the plants and animals that will make the pond their home (makes you wonder exactly how good it is for us).

My main goal for the pond is not strictly aesthetic but to attract local native fauna, in particular frogs and birds.  I’ve gone exclusively with local native aquatic plants.  There’s water ribbons which help to oxygenate the water, a couple of different sedges and nardoo.  These are all emergent (they have their roots in the water but extend above the surface) although I understand that water ribbons can be fully submersed in the water and still do their thing.  Around the pond edge I’ve planted some more sedges and rushes as well as Bidgee Widgee, Lomandra Longifolia and Clematis Mycrophylla.  There’s also a Hedge Wattle nearby which should help to attract local fauna.  All these are there with the purpose of providing cover, shelter and food for invertebrates, frogs etc.  Here’s a picture of the first iteration of the pond:-

Now I just sit back and wait to see how things develop.  Given that we are heading into winter, I don’t expect a lot of activity.  The frog breeding season starts in August but until the surrounding plants have grown enough to provide cover, the site might still be too exposed for frogs to want to risk using the pond.  Time will tell.