Small marginal plants look good at the front, with perhaps a lilly and some oxygenating plants deeper under the water, floating pond plants can also be a nice addition but are generally hard to overwinter and are best treated as annuals. If you are looking to stock up on koi pond plants you will have to take a different tack and make allowances for the sheer size these fishes can attain and their voracious appetites for everything leafy!

Bog Plants

These are the plants that really love soggy damp conditions but don’t like their feet totally immersed as marginals do. They do best in a purpose built bog garden at the side of the pond. Hostas, Primulas, Gunneras and Lobelias are a good place to start looking. Always take into account the indicated eventual size on the plants labels and lay them out in their pots so you can space them pleasingly before planting. They grow very quickly , so though an area may look spartan at first, if you do overcrowd your plants it will look very messy when grown.

Marginal Plants

They are generally planted in plastic crates or pond baskets, lined with hessian and filled with special loam based pond plant compost. They are then topped off with a good 1” of large pea gravel to stop fish from disturbing the soil. Place on the marginal shelves around your pond. You can mix and match irises, rushes and grasses at the back and sides with marsh marigolds and forget-me-nots at the front. So many too choose from!

Oxygenating Plants

Water Lillys

Everyone is familiar with the beauty of the water lily. Not always the easiest plant too grow in the past, it is now getting easier due to much more rigorous varietys being produced. There are now very many hardy water lilies to choose from in an array of colours and petal shapes. Some get huge and some are perfect even for small garden ponds, I strongly advise you check size before you buy! Also I would recommend investing in a good quality pond plant fertilizer, as they are hungry plants and will fade quickly if undernourished. When transplanting to a larger basket make sure the tuber is at the same depth to help avoid crown rot.

Pond Design & Siting

All wildlife oriented natural garden ponds should have at least one side  gently sloping up and out of the water creating a ‘beach’ effect. This is essential for small animals, allowing them easy and natural access. Its also an ideal damp ground area where bog plants and insects will thrive. Areas of direct sunlight should be avoided, you could have problems with green water & temperature fluctuations. Semi-shade is best for all.

Always make your pond as large as you possibly can with a minimum depth of 18 inches and as many sloping sides as possible! A butyl rubber pond liner would be the best material to use in construction, this can be covered with pebbles or soil around the edges to create a very convincing natural look.

Planting

Effective planting plays a big part in creating biodiversity in your new wildlife habitat. Marginal plants such as Irises, marsh marigolds etc go around the edges and create a fantastic habitat for frogs, toads and dragonflies. Oxygenating plants such as elodea and hornwort  grow underwater and provide the perfect lodgings for dragonfly nymphs, water beetles, boatmen, snails etc.  There are many very beautiful pond plants to be found, get down to your local water garden centre!

Maintenance

As your plants establish themselves and grow they will require periodic ‘thinning out’, especially oxygenators, which can grow very rapidly. Aim to keep roughly a third of the surface area clear. Keep an eye out for any residents who may be in the thinnings, rescue if needed. Excess oxygenators make great compost.
Green water is common in many new ponds and is no cause for concern, as your pond achieves a natural balance it should pass. For stubborn cases try a barley straw mini bale. It comes in a net bag and should be placed just below the surface and is very effective at reducing green water. Avoid chemical algicides at all costs, these can be devastating to small creatures. They go against the very ethic of a wildlife pool.

Who Will Live Here?

Your wildlife pond is a great alternative to a more stylised garden pond and will attract a vast array of  fauna from frogs, toads and birds to dragonflys, beetles, boatmen and snails, and many others. Fish should really be avoided unless your pond is large, they eat everyone else! You will be amazed by the amount and variety of creatures that will soon call your wildlife pond home.