Return to the Ponds in the UK Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
ponds and sunlight
| | |
Posted by lowlife south uk (My Page) on Thu, Feb 8, 07 at 5:34
| hi i'd like to put a very small pond appx 1x2m in my garden. the garden is north facing but half of it gets sun for a little more than half the year. I don't want to put fish in it, it's more to encourage frogs and attract the eye.
with regards to position, does a pond need direct sunlight throughout the year?
i'm concerned that the position i wanted to put it in, will be fine for summer sun and plant growth. However with the sun dropping down for the colder months, i don't know how much direct sun, if any it will get. would this make it a bad position for a pond, or would the plants struggle for not having direct winter sun? I don't want to heavily plant it or make it look like a water garden, just pretty, healthy and natural. I could put it in an open area so there's plenty of light if that makes any difference.
thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: ponds and sunlight
| | |
| Hi! Be careful, ponds are addictive! The issue with light is that some plants (like waterlilies) do need a good amount of sun, and there does need to be enough light for the plants generally. Everything gets going in a lot of light, including green algae, so in bright sun you do need to make sure that there is a fair amount of plant cover. My pond is north-facing and breaks all the sunlight rules as on the south side is house, and the north side is tall trees and a decent size wall as well on the west side. It doesn't get a huge amount of sunlight in the winter, but in the spring/summer/autumn it gets sunlight from about dawn to noon, and then from about 3:00 to dusk. There are periods of seasonal green water which I don't mind, and there are plenty of bugs etc. to feed the ever growing frogs, toads and newts that have found their way to the garden. Even had a kingfisher last spring helping itself to the stickelbacks---not bad for a town garden! So I would suggest go for it---and with regard to planting you will find out what works and what doesn't. The wildlife in your garden will appreciate any bit of water. Do make sure though you create some kind of beach so your critters can get in and out, and if you can, avoid paving stones all around the pond as the froglets will stick & fry when they get ready to leave the pond unless they have something natural to hop on. Also, if you want to encourage wildlife, making sure they have places to live helps (rock piles can be attractive and provide homes, as well as wood piles covered in ivy in out of the way dark corners). If it is big enough to be quite deep (2 1/2-3 ft, then you are also providing hibernating places for male frogs for example. Tall things like iris also provide places for the dragonflies/damselflies to emerge. Have fun! chip |
RE: ponds and sunlight
| | |
Hi, my pond gets very little sun in the winter. One thing I suggest though, is that you go out now (mid Feb), and choose a spot that gets sun now for a shallow end. This will mean that there is a shallow area which will warm up for frogs to spawn in.
Sun in the summer is generally more important than sun in the winter.
Try not to have it too close to trees (leaves falling in) or you might get roots poking through the liner. Having said that, I had to cut quite alot of small roots because I was limited in where I could put mine.
Good luck, remember a beach area and shelves for plants, and make it bigger than you want. It will still be too small.... And make part at least 18 inches or 2 ft deep if you can. |
RE: ponds and sunlight
| | |
thanks i'm really struggling with this. my garden is very small and i really want all the sunny parts for beds. i thought about having a small rectangular one that was positioned half sun/half shade, bearing in mind the roof shadow cuts the garden in half across it's width.
on the bbc site there is a monty don video where he's putting a small pond in the darkest corner of his garden.
here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/projects/water_pond.shtml
if you click on the green play video link it'll start up. I'd really love to be able to fill part of the shady areas with a small pond. Is it really hopeless? |
RE: ponds and sunlight
| | |
| Nothing is hopeless...why not do what he did in the video? Make the shady bit into a bog garden for ferns and hostas with a bit of water where there is more sun? That way you will get the sunlight for plants like iris to give some colour, and your critters can have lovely hiding places in the bog garden (just hope they keep the slugs/snails at bay rather than putting down slug killer). Put a bird feeder there as well and just make sure there is a shallow place for things to crawl in and out, and also for the birds to bathe. You will be surprised what can happen with even just a bit of water. If your pond is shallow though you will need to be careful about melting the ice when it freezes so toxins don't build up and poison whatever is in there. Don't break ice but melt it with hot pans, or use floating balls that help stop the ice from forming or can be taken out to create a hole. Go for it!! |
RE: ponds and sunlight
| | |
Most of my pond is in shade even in the summer. In fact as you go from the front of the house bathed in beautiful hot sunlight round to the back where the pond is, it goes remarkedly colder and shady. It has a certain amount of sun each day so if yours has at least a while where there is some direct sun I think you will be fine. Go for it anyway as the wildlife will thank you for it. I bet in the near future you will be wanting to cut into your beds to make it bigger. You can see some of the pics of my pond on the link below.
Alison |
Here is a link that might be useful: alisons pond and garden
|
|
|
|
