The garden pond- water, wonder and wildlife..jpg) The RHS and Wildlife Trusts have recently launched a joint initiative called 'Wild about gardens' where they are encouraging people to make space and build ponds to attract wildlife. Ponds are one of the top ways to bring wildlife in to your garden and it doesn't even need to be a big space. It can be a pot or a planter filled with water and a few plants added. Being a water garden Tor Garden Plants has plenty of ponds, 11 to be precise. Firstly introduced for growing water plants but over the years they have become havens for wildlife. They are absolutely teeming with life and activity throughout the year. Early spring you listen out for the sound of frogs singing in mass as they congregate to breed. It is an astonishing sight the water almost bubbling with activity and the noise truly is a loud frog song. Watching the tadpoles grow is a real pleasure until tiny baby frogs start springing across your path. We also attract toads and newts. We have hundreds of newts in our ponds and on a sunny day you can see them just under the water basking in the sunshine. The ponds are also home to lots of insects from mayflies, damselflies, water boatmen and diving beetles. The most majestic has to be the dragonfly as they hover in the most stunning metallic colours. Although their larvae is quite the opposite and almost alien looking with predator jaws preying on anything that crosses their path. Pond plants are also key in creating habitat and aiding the ecosystem. Marginal plants are perfect for the dragonflies to grasp on to and then emerge from there nymph shells having time to dry before the first flight. Floating plants provide cover for tadpoles and insects to hide from predators and oxygenating plants keep the water clean and replenished. The range of water loving plants available is vast and means you can design how your pond looks to suit you. From natural and native to exotic and bursting with colour. At Tor Garden Plants we offer a diverse range of plants so you can make your pond unique to you whilst creating a home for wildlife. So if there is a small corner somewhere in your garden please consider making a pond. |
