The first frost has left our gardens glistening with a white blanket and the trees have nearly shed all their leaves, so we should be looking at how to protect our gardens ponds during these cold times of the year.

With autumn slowly turning into winter, maintenance of your pond should not be overlooked event, even though it might feel like it is too cold to venture into your garden. The first thing that every gardener who owns a pond should always do at this time of year is to collect as many leaves as possible before they fall or get blown into the pond. When the leaves enter the pond and slowly decompose they will change the chemical balance of your pond which could be detrimental for your fish.

If the weather is forecast to be really cold for long periods, you need to make sure that any waterfalls or fountains are turned off. It is difficult for these items to operate when the water becomes icy and the pond pump may burn out if it is expected to cope with icy water. Also the movement of cold water when it is exposed to the cold air will actually make the overall pond water much colder and whilst fish can survive in cold conditions they do not like sudden changes in temperature.

If your pond freezes, make sure that you defrost a section using a hot pan, don’t pour hot water onto the pond surface or be tempted to smash the ice with a hammer, this will shock the fish and cause more problems than solutions.