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Hope you find the DIY gardening articles interesting and helpful
Gardens large, sloping and small, a garden for disabled or elderly gardeners, I landscape them all.
flowerpotman
Landscape gardeners
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| Mike the old landscape gardener |
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flowerpotman garden pond builder
natural looking ponds
Recent times have seen about three quarters of our natural wildlife ponds lost , along with the wetland plants and wildlife they supported. In making garden nature ponds you are building an oasis - for frogs, toads, newts, and dragonflies and giving yourself endless pleasure as you watch them come and go. It is also helps the kids see and understand the workings of nature. A garden nature pond, stream and water feature can be installed for you by our pond installation team using puddled clay or rubber liner. Quotes to install garden ponds and water features are free in Noth Somerset, Somerset, Weston super mare,Bristol,Portishead,Clevedon,Burnham on sea,Bridgwater,Yeovil and Wells.
For garden ponds and Water features design and build
also contruction, build and repair of Clay garden ponds using puddling clay
Contact Mike
Pond design and build
tel, email and "about us" page
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So So Peaceful
Shallow flowing water adds the dimension of motion which gives your landscape a life of its own. The sound of the water is very relaxing and sets the mood for the garden. The most obvious impact of building a stream to a garden pond or water feature is emphasizing the overall size and feeling of the water features. From just 12" to 3 or 4ft wide a flowing stream ties everything together and looks natural. Quotes for stream, water feature and garden pond installation are free.
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Garden Ponds and Water feature tips
Wildlife ponds are best in a part of your garden set aside as a natural area and chemical free. Where wildlife will visit safely and maybe decide to set up home.
Ornamental fish are a no no in wildlife ponds and you wont need filters. Sticklebacks or Minnows are ok in small numbers and maybe add a few goldfish for the kids. If numbers are kept sensible you will never need to feed, leaving the natural productivity and diversity of life in a pond to sustain them. I have kept goldfish in my pond for years and have never fed them,they seem healthy , look happy and breed .
In a new wildlife pond add water snails they help break down decaying ....
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On this page
- Nature pond tips,
- Safe pond plants,
- Unsuitable pond plants,
- Clay garden ponds,
- Plants for a Bog Garden,
- Algae and blanket weed,
- Pond installation using puddling clay,
- How to stop frogs and toads,
- Pond accessories shop.
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.......plants and reduce the build up of algae. Ask your pond builder to add some silt from a mature pond, the silt will help build up the balance of your new pond and if the builder can, add a bucket full of water from a chemical free pond this will give your nature pond a good start with insect life essential to the pond.
Remember if you are not keeping koi you wont need filters or use chemicals to clean the pond water, dispite what the garden center tells you, Get the balance right, nature will help you to do this and you will have a happy and healthy wildlife pond. I have listed a few safe plants and some to avoid below.
Safe Native Plants for Garden Ponds
Hornwort, Water milfoil,Water crowfoot, Water starwort, White waterlily, Yellow waterlily, Arrowhead Sagittar, Broad-leafed pondweed, Water soldier ,
Plants to avoid in nature ponds
Australian swamp stonecrop or New Zealand pygmy weed, (often labled Tillaea recurva or Tillaea helmsii), Parrots feather,Floating pennywort,Indian balsam,Water lettuce,Water chestnut,Water hyacinth,Water ferns (Azolla species )
Plants for a Bog Garden
Make the most of waterlogged areas in gardens and lawns and install a Water feature or a Bog area water feature filled with colourful plants.
Primula Candelabra Hybrids , Stems with several whorls of flowers in many different colours from mid May into July,. Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii , 3½ high with bold cut foliage and dense fluffy rich pink erect plumes of flowers on stiff stems in July & August. Iris sibirica , Popular irises for wet areas they are available in a wide variety of colours, flowers are often beautifully and intricately marked and veined,growing around 3-4 High. Ligularia dentata a large perennial with golden orange daisies on stout stems in mid to late summer. Persicaria bistorta is a easy plant for any soggy spot, produces several stiff spikes of clear pink flowers for most of the summer.
Managing your garden wildlife pond
Should be very easy. Keep marginal plant cover to about a third of the pond's surface, leaving the other two thirds for submerged weeds and bare mud. Silt normally takes many years to fill a pond - you shouldn't need to clear any out within your lifetime. Don't ever "totally clean out" a pond as this will destroy the wildlife community it has developed. Adding water features that move the water (stream) help keep ponds health .
When is the best time to thin out pond plant growth
When amphibians have completed their lifecycle, the pond is shallow and not too cold to make the job unpleasant. But remember Most pond animals prefer the cover of plants. A good wildlife pond will be at least a third covered with emergent and floating plants.
How to control algae and blanket weed in my garden pond
In moderation, algae provide great habitat for aquatic insects and is completely natural and does not harm your fish or plants., but if you have a problem resulting from the high fertility of your pond. The cause may be fertiliser added too plants you have bought from your garden centre (THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER or maybe its a ploy to create dependancy), or food that you add for fish or ducks.
Some people use barley straw, which inhibits algae and blanket weed growth, but this isn't a long-term cure. Most new ponds have some algae, blanket weed overgrowth in the first year, and so don't worry to soon. Shade as much of the water as possible with lilies and other aquatic plants. Algae requires sunlight.
Continually removing the blanket weed algae will eventually lower the nutrient levels.There are chemicals that will kill blanket weed algae but the dead algae sinks to the bottom and rots, providing more nutrients for a fresh new bloom. Therefore you will have to add more and so the cycle starts over again. NEVER ADD CHEMICALS TO A WILDLIFE POND YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO.
More Garden pond tips on this page, How to line and repair Garden Ponds with Puddling clay, How to stop frogs and toads getting into my swimming pool.
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How to make Garden Ponds made from Puddled clay
Water feature and garden ponds design and installation using puddling clay .Clay is the traditional method of lining ponds and canals and is the best material for lining garden ponds,wildlife ponds and water features, its spread over the excavation, mixed with water and then repeatedly trampled to remove all the air spaces and to break down the structure of the clay. Puddling is hard work, and must be done thoroughly to make a waterproof seal. In the past, flocks of sheep were used.
A modern method is to use a dumper truck or JCB, driven back and forth or even a wacker. Or better still enlist the local school, the kids love it and learn about an almost forgotten skill.
If you are lucky and can wait, clay may be available cheaply as a waste product from local building sites and ground work or more likely and I'm afraid more expensive, from clay producers and most suppliers of aggregates. The puddling clay I use is sourced locally when I can, otherwise I use the supplier who supplies the puddling clay used by British Waterways for lining canals.
The clay layer should be at least (6") thick and laid in layers. Once properly puddled, the clay lining remains waterproof indefinitely, provided it remains underwater. Exposed clay dries out and cracks, so is not suitable for steep streams and waterfalls.
A natural meandering stream can be created without using rubber liners, even in very confined woodlands and difficult parts of the garden, instead we use Bentonite. Bentonite is the same clay used in Canal building and repairing leaks in lakes and reservoirs.
How do I stop frogs and toads coming into my garden
Cant see why you should want to stop frogs from coming into your garden at all But If the calls are keeping you awake, or if there are frogs in your swimming pool, there are a couple of things you can do. Frogs in your garden are a valuable part of our native wildlife , they munch their way through large quantities of .......
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....of slugs and the damp conditions that attract slugs also attract frogs. If frogs are coming into your garden they are heading for a breeding pond, and during certain times of the year they will be out and about in numbers. the spring migration to the pond, a mid-summer exodus of young from the pond, and then in Autumn the return to the the pond. Mostly moving during damp rainy nights, just like slugs on there way to munch your favourite flowers.
The main problem seems to be frogs jumping in for a swim and becoming trapped in your swimming pool, because they cant get out .You could install a frog ladder in the pool to help them.climb out but if you really don't want to share your pond with the gardeners best friend. The only really effective way to stop them is a low fencing or decorative wall installation that the frogs can't pass. This will also work to keep frogs out of gardens, although given the benefits of having frogs in the garden, I'm not sure why people would want to keep frogs out of the garden. A bucket load of toads or frogs is far better than a bucket load of plant eating slugs and other insects. Best solution is to learn to live with nature and spend less on chemical slug bait, you cant really fight nature and win long term anyway, Its gotta way of coming back strong " Global warning"
Garden pond design and build
A garden pond and waterfall installation requires quality components and a lot of physical labour. If you would like a wildlife pond, stream or water feature installed we can design and install it for you . Cost of installation for a small basic garden pond is about £800 including a pump and liner. Water falls,water features using natural stone etc cost more depending on the design and cost of materials.
If you are going to design and build your own garden pond, this is the online pond shop for all the accessories and pond equipment you need, including pond liners, pond pumps, pond hose and a calcalator to calculate the size of the liner you will need to build your pond
For Pond pumps, Pond liners, Pond vacs, Pond filters and Pond lighting, this is the online pond equipment and accessories shop I use, The Pond shop They have got a useful pond liner calculator too.
We also repair and fix leaks in garden ponds including clay lined ponds
in North Somerset, Bristol, Weston super mare, Portishead, Nailsea, Clevedon, Bath, Yeovil,Highbridge Burnham on Sea, Taunton, Wells and Bridgwater area.
I also build garden ponds and waterfeatures that a part of a landscaping project, in most towns in Bristol, Somerset, North Somerset,Devon,Wiltshire,Hampshire,Berkshire, West Midlands,Dorset and London.
UK Suppliers of pond liners,pond pumps,pond filters,pump & filter sets,pond kits pond vacuums hose, clips & fittings fish food solar power ultra violet clarifiers pond treatments electrics & lighting water features pond air pumps pond waterfalls pond accessories,
Delivery | Water Features | Pond Liners | Pond Pumps | Solar Pond Pumps | Pond Filters, Pond Filter Kits Complete With Pumps | UVC's & Electronic Blanket Weed Control | Pond Protection, Pond Maintenance | Pond Lighting | Pond Air Pumps | Pond Electrical Hose & Clips | Fish Food | PondTreatments, Pond Skimmers |Pond Skimmers,Pond Netting, Pond Cleaning,Pump Accessories, Electrical pond Accessories
Pond build quotes are free in Somerset, North Somerset, Bristol, Weston super mare, Bath, Yeovil, Taunton, Wells, Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead and Bridgwater . There is a small charge in other areas unless the pond or water feature is part of a Landscaping package.
free quotes for garden ponds,water features and garden pond repair,in the following area
Somerset,Devon,Wiltshire,Berkshire,Dorset, Ashcott , Axbridge | Backwell ,Bath, Brent Knoll ,Bridgwater | Bruton , Burnham-on-Sea ,| Castle Cary | Chard | Cheddar | Churchill | Clevedon, Congresbury , Crewkerne, Dunster | Farrington Gurney | Faulkland | Frome | Glastonbury | Highbridge, Ilchester | Ilminster | Keynsham | Langport | Long Ashton | Lympsham | Martock |,Midsomer Norton | Minehead |Porlock | Radstock | Shepton Mallet | Somerton | Street | Taunton | Wedmore | Wellington Wells | West Camel | Wincanton | Winscombe | Winsford | Wookey | Woolverton | Worle,Yeovil | Berkeley, Bristol | Chipping Sodbury | Clevedon | Clifton | Flax Bourton | Henbury | Keynsham | Lawrence Weston | Long Ashton | Nailsea | Old Sodbury | Paulton | Portishead | Saltford | Severn Beach | Shirehampton | Stoke Gifford |Thornbury | Westbury Park | Westbury-on-Trym | Weston-super-Mare .Westonzoyland| Winterbourne | Wotton-under-Edge |Wrington | Yate | Yatton .Chippenham |Corsham,|Devizes |Limpley Stoke | Malmesbury | Marlborough | Melksham | Salisbury | Swindon |Trowbridge | Upavon | Warminster |Westbury | Wootton Bassett, | Basingstoke, Bracknell | Hungerford | Newbury |Reading | Bridport |Christchurch | Dorchester | Lyme Regis | Poole |Shaftesbury | Sherborne | Weymouth |Exeter | Tiverton .Almondsbury |Cheltenham | Cirencester | Dursley | Gloucester | Moreton-in-Marsh | Nailsworth | Painswick | Stow-on-the-Wold | Stroud | Tetbury | Tewkesbury.North Somerset, Worle, Bristol | Chipping Sodbury | Clevedon | Clifton | Flax Bourton | Henbury | Keynsham | Lawrence Weston | Long Ashton | Nailsea | Old Sodbury | Paulton | Portishead | Saltford | Severn Beach | Shirehampton | Stoke Gifford |Thornbury | Westbury Park | Westbury-on-Trym | Weston-super-Mare .Westonzoyland| Winterbourne | Wotton-under-Edge |Wrington | Yate | Yatton .|.North Somerset.Abbots Leigh | Almondsbury | Alveston | Backwell | Barrow Gurney | Bedminster | Berkeley | Bishop Sutton | Bishopston | Bitton | Blagdon | Bradley Stoke | Brislington | Bristol | Bristol Airport | Chew Magna | Chipping Sodbury | Clapton In Gordano | Clevedon | Clifton | Clutton | Clutton Hill | Coalpit Heath | Codrington | Coombe Dingle | Cotham | Countywide | Dundry | Easton-In-Gordano | Eastville | Emersons Green | Failand | Farrington Gurney | Felton | Filton | Fishponds | Flax Bourton | Hallen | Hambrook | Henbury | Horfield | Horton | Hotwells | Kewstoke | Keynsham | Langford | Lawrence Weston | Long Ashton | Longwell Green | Mangotsfield | Montpelier | Nailsea | Old Sodbury | Oldland Common | Olveston | Patchway | Paulton | Pensford | Pill | Pilning | Portbury | Portishead | Redhill | Redland | Saltford | Severn Beach | Shirehampton | Southville | St Pauls | St Philips | Stanton Drew | Staple Hill | Stapleton | Stoke Bishop | Stoke Gifford | Temple Cloud | Temple Meads | Thornbury | Tockington | Westbury Park | Westbury-on-Trym | Whitchurch | Wick | Winscombe | Winterbourne | Winterbourne Down | Wotton-under-Edge | Wraxall | Wrington | Yate | Yatton | Weston super mare|Milton|Worle|Banwell|Worlbury|Uphill|.
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