wildlife pond

I will send you a pm on a website you can use. I cheated and bought a "starter kit!" Then I bought a water lily, not cheap, but will be worth it. Oh, and some barley straw to help with the algae. Will look at my wildlife book for plants to put near and around it.

Depends also on how big the pond is/will be and what the soil conditions are like near/around the pond.

go for british natives if you can as these benefit british wildlife best. Yellow flag iris are lovely, water mint good but vigourous, watercress edible! etc.
I have some spare plants if you are interested Mookins. pm me your address etc if you are interested.

Sbg, what weed would be best for oxygenating, (in a sunny position) ie eating the algae? I put some barleystraw in but I'm still getting algae, thanks!

I use Elodea canedensis and Myriophilum and as an added bonus they remove many of the nutrients that encourage algal growth. You need to aim for leaf coverage of at least 1/3 of the surface or shade for that amount as a minimum. I've never used barley straw and after an initial pea soup effect the pond clears.

Marsh Marigold are great for yellow in spring and attract early insects to your pond. Purple Loosestrife and willowherb is also loved by insects. These are for shallow edges. Wildflower specialist merchants sell wet-meadow mixes perfect for the pond edge or wetland zone. Meadowsweet is a great plant for shady edges of your wetland too.

Is the pond in the sun, part shade or full shade? I'll pm you with a list from a book I've got. ;-)

Thanks Sbg, your reply was at the same time as I wrote too!

Well Craftnutter the plants you mention are great and would look great in a wildlife setting but whats all this with ebay and internet shopping ?

There are many local providers who would welcome the business and be only too willing to provide quite commonly available plants failing that quite a few of us on goy have wildlife ponds and would happily provide some advice and even some cuttings .

Barley straw only really necessary if you have a lake - no pond should be in full shade , willowherb a nightmare what you reading ?

has to be a waterlily for me although dierama (angels fishing rods) look absolutely stunning and unusual next to a pond just lovely, hope this helps :o)

thats great with the plants, any suggestions on grasses and which type of water Lilly?

hubby getting really excited and is starting to see the end picture so thanks for all your ideaas

keep em coming hehhe
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lily type will depend on the depth of the pond. there are diferent varieties for different depths. so how deep are you diging down?

it will be about 2ft in the deepest part
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Bb, the source of my information was a book called "The Wildlife Pond Handbook" by The Wildlife Trusts"

There are also many garden centres that still sell non-native plants which are invasive and do not encourage wildlife. These are listed in the magazine "Wildlife Garden" by Lets grow veg. These are: N.Z. pygmyweed, parrots feather, fairy moss/water fern and floating pennywort. This is why I mentioned the internet, as these specialist aquatic plant suppliers don't sell the above and also provide advice, unlike many g.c. where no-one knows anything. I am happy to pay a little extra if I can get advice about what I am buying.

Oh yes take your point here Craftnutter.Seen a few of the above mentioned aquatics for sale but no warnings given ! : (