Maintaining a healthy pond and also attracting wildlife to your pond is not solely dependent on the pond itself but is also heavily influenced by the way that the surrounding area is landscaped.

In order to both attract visisting birds and to enable a possible escape route for unwilling swimmers, a shallow beach area is a great feature to incorporate in your pond design. If you have destructive fish such as Koi, it may only be possible to plant in shallower areas where they cannot reach. Varying depths of pond will also support different types of plants.

It can often be the case that the pond surround is quite a stark environment. The clean, minimalist lines that are so common in modern design restrict the types of wildlife that may be attracted to your pond. Frogs will appreciate a wet, shaded and marshy area surrounding a pond. They like to be in the vicinity of fresh water rather than necessarily residing in a pond. Well planted pond surrounds that are not exposed to uninterrupted sunlight help to create this environment.

Providing shade can be a difficult topic. Trees are always the obvious solution for creating shade in an outdoors environment but many, if not most, pond keepers are generally not keen on having trees surrounding a pond. The main issue is that leaf fall in autumn is not only unsightly on the water’s surface but does provide a large boost of organic matter in the pond. This can store up problems for spring when a large excess of nutrients prompts algal growth.

Ideally shade should be provided around the pond but may require a creative solution to achieve without creating additional problems.