Ponds

Whilst few have the manpower and wherewithal for this sort of project these days, we can all have some sort of pond or pool. Perhaps not on that scale though! Water adds another dimension to gardens; peace and tranquillity for us as well as being an absolute magnet for wildlife. There's always so much to see and hear if you have a pond and take the time to enjoy it. There's no need for cascades or even the tinkling of water really although, of course, in an urban environment the sound of water can help disguise the sound of traffic. There's enough to hear with the rising of fish, the breeze through surrounding planting and the movement of dragonflies, water boatmen and all the other creatures that ponds always bring in. Feeders and judiciously placed perching stones round the edges of the pond will encourage birds and the odd heron of course. But sometimes fish, which seem to multiply pretty quickly, need to be thinned out and herons have to eat.

Some of us are lucky enough to have natural ponds in our gardens or cattle or horse ponds originally dug to provide water for stock at the end of a working day. If we don't we can quite easily create our own. Modern materials such as butyl linings make short work of the practicalities of actually building a pond. In a country garden, a natural pond will blend into the landscape and look as if it has always been there for ever whilst a more formal town garden looks needs a symmetrical design, simple clean lines and understated planting.

When creating a pond, siting is important. To create a natural pond from scratch, choose a low-lying area and sunny situation. This is essential if you want the water to remain clear and the plants in and around it to grow well. If you are intending to plant around and in your pond, different pond plants have different needs and preferences. Good suppliers of aquatic plants should be able to tell you whether your plants are marginals, preferring shallow water, bog plants, which thrive in moist soil at the edge of ponds, or whether they are surface floaters, floating freely on the water. Or, perhaps, deepwater plants like water lilies, which want to be anchored on the bottom of your pond. Planting depth is something you need to consider when you are building your pond; create shelves, so that you can grow all the plants with their differing requirements, or adjust the depth of planting by using bricks as a platform. The depth is measured as the distance from the top of the soil in the pot to the surface of the water. You can make 'beaches' using washed pebbles and stones to provide a gentle slope into the water which all sorts of wildlife will use.

If your pond is too shallow, you're likely to get algae on a regular basis as the water heats up rapidly – growing surface floaters creates shade which will deter it. When you're buying aquatic plants, it's an idea to rinse them before you plant in case they have tiny duckweed plants in the roots. Aquatic plants can be planted in specially made baskets or something similar. These used to be lined with hessian or old sacks but the coconut fibre linings you can get for hanging baskets are a modern equivalent and easy to find.. Use nutrient-rich aquatic plant soil to get the plants off to a good start. Weigh the baskets and their contents down with stones, or a thick layer of horticultural grit, so they are well anchored.

So, what sort of plants to grow around and in your pond? With a formal pool, a small collection of plants is more complementary. The vertical lines provided by plants like iris, the architectural shapes of the arum lilies with their dark glossy leaves and perhaps the corkscrew stems of the rush, Juncus effusus 'Spiralis' would provide interesting contrasts. Or, the lovely Japanese horsetail, Equisetum var. Japonicum which has a great shape and strong, handsone form. There is a particularly pretty, aniseed-scented. pink waterlily called N. 'Rose Arey' in the hexagonal pond at Great Dixter which has quite pointy petals. These would offset the vertical lines of iris and horsetail beautifully in a formal pond. If you preferred more colour in your formal design, you could go for the variegated white striped Iris laevigata with their deep blue flowers and grow these with the upright candelabra primulas. . Primula japonica have tiers of flowers in a really intense crimson which look dramatic with the iris.

The native yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus) is a particularly vigorous plant and there is a decorative variegated form; its leaves striped with yellow. In the pond oxgenating water violets (Hottonia palustris) provide rosettes of lacy foliage and are bright green throughout the winter. Like many aquatic plants, they can become congested, but if you keep them under control, they'll flower and provide you with pale lilac or white primula like blossoms which rise up above the water to about a foot. Plants like these are vital for a healthy pond as their submerged leaves provide oxygen. Another interesting plant worth looking out for is the oxygenating 'water soldier' (Stratiotes aloides) with purple rosettes which turn green when they come up above the water.

Edge your pond with grasses like Carex elata 'Aurea', with the giant leaves of the gunneras (if you have the room), with ornamental willows, clump forming bamboo and bog plants. Vary the foliage and use plants with large round leaves next to plants with upright narrow leaves. Try Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' with bright orange daisy flowers and round leaves next to Astilbe 'Bressingham Beauty' with large fluffy pink heads. Quite an interesting colour combination!