Add a small & stylish pond

Wildlife SPECIAL

Water will attract all sorts of wildlife to your plot and it’s SO EASY to create a petite pool

The very latest trend in garden ponds is a petite pool for wildlife, and they work beautifully in a modern garden. So forget any notions you might have that a pond is too trad or untidy for your garden, or too demanding for you, and have a think where a bijou pool would spruce up your space a treat!

We saw loads of designer-created wildlife pools at last year's garden shows, with sloping stone or gravel edges so it’s super-easy for creatures to sup, bathe, breed and get in and out.

Early spring is the perfect time to get it sorted, as the ground should have thawed, and it’s an easy and affordable add – by using aquatic plants, there’s no need for a fiddly or expensive pump. So gloves on, spade out, Thermos at the ready… let’s get started!

SITTING PRETTY

The addition of any water will bring plenty of wildlife to your garden and this petite pool designed by Vicky Lincoln (vickylincolngardendesign.com) proves that small can still be beautiful.

Who will visit?

✽ SMOOTH NEWT Also known as the common newt, this little stunner can be spotted in spring when it lays its eggs on underwater plant material – for the rest of the year it’ll be feeding on insects, caterpillars and slugs or hibernating in surrounding woody, grassy areas. It’s around 7-10cm long with an orange belly and neat black spots all over.

✽ COMMON FROG Our native frog is likely to be one of your first guests. They like a variety of plants such as frogbit to provide cover and shade for spawn, marginal plants like yellow iris in which froglets can hide, and waterlilies to sit on.

✽ GREAT DIVING BEETLE Easy to spot as they grow up to 3.5cm and have distinctive red legs, they prey on mosquito larvae and keep down tadpole numbers. They’re also scavengers so will feed on algae or dead insects that have fallen in, helping to keep your pond healthy.

✽ DAMSELFLY Along with dragonflies, encourage as many of these voracious eaters as they’ll munch pesky midges, gnats and flies. The azure damselfly measures just over 3cm and has pale blue bands of black along its body. Spot it from May to September.

✽ POND SKATER There are around nine common species of these bugs that eat dead or trapped little pond critters. Water-repellent hairs on the bottom of their feet enable them to walk ridiculously quickly on the pond’s surface film.

✽ PIPISTRELLE BAT Our smallest and most common bat can eat up to 3,000 aquatic fly larvae, including mozzies and midges, in one night! Weighing less than a pound coin, they come out of hibernation in April but you might spot one before on a warm night.

FEATU