When people think about the perfect garden, I’m sure they imagine it with a pond. A pond would be a great feature for your outdoor space, as lots of research shows that water in a garden can add a relaxing quality, and will help you unwind when you are enjoying all that fresh air.
Ponds also encourage a variety of wildlife into your garden, which can help the whole space to thrive as a brilliant ecosystem. Unfortunately, though, some people think that all you need to do is simply add a pond to a garden and then forget about it.
Of course, this isn’t the case, as the pond will need plenty of maintenance to ensure it stays in good shape. Here are some top tips that can help you stay on top of your new garden pond.
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Automate The Cleaning
Firstly, you need to make sure that the cleaning of your pond is automated. Thankfully, you’ll be able to find a variety of pumps for your pond that can do all the necessary cleaning for you. Of course, if you really want to, you could keep on cleaning it manually by hand, but you will find that it is a lot of work that could be very time-consuming. Once you pop in a cleaning pump, the machine will do all the hard work for you!
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Keep It Aerated
It’s also necessary to add a pump that will keep your pond aerated. There are a lot of reasons why this is important, but the most important one has to be that it can greatly reduce the amount of muck and dirt that builds up in the pond. That’s not the only important reason, though.
Aeration will also improve the overall quality of the water by increasing its oxygen levels and reducing unnecessary nutrients. You will find that when a fish dies, a few others will follow it, and this is usually because the oxygen levels in the pond are too low. As aeration prevents them from dipping too much, you will find that it helps to keep all the fish in your pond a lot healthier so that they can live longer!
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Don’t Leave It Too Tidy
Some people like to keep very tidy ponds so that there is no plant out of place. However, this can actually be a critical error as there is the chance you could end up making the pond too tidy. A healthy pond needs a good mix of various habitats, so it’s important that there is plenty of stones, mud, plants, leaves, and twigs in the water.
These can all be used by the wildlife to make their perfect habitat. The more there is, the better chance they have of surviving the long winter months. If you clean up your pond too wel, and remove too many items, then it could make it difficult for wildlife to survive in it. As a result, the pond won’t be quite as healthy as you think.
Mix The Plants
As well as ensuring there are plenty of plants, it’s also essential to make sure that there is a good mix of them. Just having one variety of pond plant won’t be enough to help wildlife species survive in it.
Having a good mix of underwater plants, floating leaves, and those that grow out of the water will create a thriving ecosystem within the pond as it will all encourage as many species as possible to come and make their home in the waters.
Don’t Forget Shade
Most people forget to add sufficient shade to their garden pond. This can be detrimental to the health of all the pond plants and wildlife that are in it. That’s because not everything that lives in the water will be able to survive in bright sunshine, and they will need some cooling shade above them.
However, this is a very fine balance that you need to get right as there can be such a thing as too much shade. You should also be careful if you are relying on surrounding trees and bushes to provide your pond with shade. Falling leaves could end up falling into the water and will end up decaying on the bottom of the pond, which could release some toxins into the water.
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Never Add Tap Water
There might be times when the water level in your pond seems to decrease significantly. This is usually the case in the summer when the weather gets hot and the water evaporates. Thankfully, though, water levels fluctuate naturally, so you should find that your pond fills up on the next rainy day. However, if you go through a heatwave, you might need to top up the pond yourself to protect its plants and wildlife.
Whatever you do, though, never add water straight from the tap into the pond as it could be filled with high levels of nutrients that the plants and wildlife aren’t used to.
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Think Carefully Before Adding Fish
Finally, it’s worth considering whether you really want fish in your pond or not. Generally speaking, fish won’t mix with other pond wildlife, so if you do add some fish, you will find that the likes of frogs, toads, and newts won’t really visit your pond.
If you do want to see a mix of wildlife in your pond, like frogs and newts, then it’s a good idea to leave fish out of it. No matter what you do, though, don’t ever transfer fish or other wildlife from another pond into your own. This could introduce various diseases and cause big problems for all the plants. If you do want to add some fish, make sure you go to your local pet shop or reputable supplier.
In all, there is a lot that you need to think about and consider when you are installing a garden pond. There is a lot of maintenance, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to keep on top of!
