I am going to put a small pond in my allotment with a view to attracting more wildlife Can anyone advice and couple of suitable plants to put into the margins to improve the water quality

Hi jvt,

The ponds not very big and to be honest i'd think about putting a solar operated pump in that space, it'll keep the water clear and still get you the wild life,
you only want one that will pour the water rather than a fountain idea, they dont cost a lot and work via the sun.

If you get the planting right, you wont have to worry about any pumps, filters, UV's etc.

With regards to your pond design, if you can make it bigger, make it so at least one of the sides has a gentle slope. You can then put some large, flat beech pebbles on it. This will give a little bit of sactuary for mini beasts and the birds will also enjoy coming down for a bath. A couple of rolled out turfs going into the water is nice too.

Make the marginal shelves around 8-10" wide and deep

As for plants, go for a water lilly and some water hawthorn. These will give good surface cover and help keep the water clear by reducing the sun getting into the water.

For marginals, marsh marigolds (Caltha pulustris) are a must, Pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata) and Iris pseudochorus are both nice. Always look up your marginals before you buy them....some are absolute brutes and will take over your pond.

Don't forget some oxygenators...Canadian pondweed and water hornwort are both ok but will need to be kept under control.

Finally, i know it's a wildlife pond but a small group of sticklebacks will help keep the balance if you want and if you can get them.

Good luck, will be doing a similar project myself soon.

I think your pond is too deep for the surface area. You would be well advised to need to make it either shallower or bigger if you want to keep it balanced. A pump would certainly help to keep it oxygenated. You can have a deep area in a bigger one if you want one but there is a formula (which I can't remember) for surface area:volume of water - I would check with your local pond supplier or get a book from the library. Otherwise you risk the water going nasty occasionally, when its a lot of work cleaning it out. Then follow Andy's advice.

Thanks all, I'll do a little research and post a couple of pictures once completed. Thanks for taking the trouble to answer

John