Plants & Wildlife in Your Pond

Plants are a great way to encourage wildlife to your garden and pond.

POND WEED

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  • When floating on the surface or growing up from the bottom, oxygenating plants such as Elodea provide shelter as well as oxygen to the pond environment.
  • Shade is important to amphibian larvae and is also useful in harbouring zooplankton such as daphnia and cyclops – tiny microorganisms that are food to many other invertebrates and amphibians in the pond.
  • The weed also offers places for frogs and toads to leave spawn and newts to wrap individual eggs within the leaves

REEDS AND GRASSES

  • Dense vegetation in the form of grasses and reeds provides cover for wildlife entering or exiting the water.
  • These plants tend to construct vast and complex root systems which act as natural filters for the water, snaring particles of waste and dirt. In fact, some people construct reed beds connected to ponds instead of pump driven filtration.
  • Plants with long stems are used by emerging Damselfly and Dragonfly nymphs for climbing out of the water and drying their new wings in the sun.
  • Flowering reeds attract pollinating insects, which as well as encouraging the spread of plant life, then attract birds which may take up residence within the reeds

MARGINAL AND MARSH PLANTS

  • Marginal plantings provide important areas of cover and breeding sites. Different marginals prefer different depths of water. To avoid more vigorous species out competing others, create separate planting pockets for them.
  • Small marsh plants can be used to bridge the gap between the pond and garden.

FLOATING & PADDED PLANTS

  • Use floating aquatic plants to achieve 65-75 percent surface coverage and cool shade for fish and amphibians.
  • Also attracts insects when flowering – perfect food for frogs and carnivorous invertebrates such as dragonflies.
  • Water lilies have actually been found to soak up potentially harmful heavy metals in water.

 

If you have any questions or would like any advice on setting up or maintaining a pond, feel free to contact us. We’re always happy to help. Visit the ‘About Us’ page for contact details.