A pond for every garden

Water features will bring many benefits

- Ruth Hayes

PONDS and water features are a great addition to any garden. They add a calming, soothing element for us and are a major attraction for wildlife.

If space is tight or you are unable to create a pond yourself, there nothing stopping you from installing a small barrel pond or mini fountain on your patio.

Whatever size you have, flying aquatic insects soon find their way in, followed if you are lucky by frogs, toads and newts.

Birds will probe around the edges for food and nesting materials and garden mammals such as hedgehogs will use it as a drinking station.

Ponds also offer a contrast, a way of introducing new plants to a garden and breaking up what might be an otherwise dull area of lawn.

Your typical pond can be hard work to install to plan well in advance. Spring is a good time as the ground is easier to work than when it is baked hard in summer, frozen or waterlogged during the winter.