new pond

[axe70]

any one know of web site And recommend a good
book on wild life ponds installing and planting and
up keeping

[Paul Wagland]

I don't know of any specifically on wildlife ponds, but there are lots on wildlife gardening generally. The Small Ecological Garden (by Sue Stickland) is very good as a budget buy, and How to Create a Wildlife Garden (by Mick Lavelle) is also excellent, and Jeannine says there's a reader offer on this in the next-but-one issue of Let's Grow Veg.

Further to that, I've just found this on Amazon - Charlie really knows her stuff and I like the way she writes.

Amazon.co.uk: The Wildlife Pond Handbook: A Practical Guide to Creating and Maintaining Your Own Wetland for Wildlife: Charlie Dimmock,Louise Bardsley: Books

[SarzWix]

I can recommend Naturescape for buying any pond plants you might want, they mostly grow native species, and are great if you're not sure what to plant, they're very friendly & helpful on the phone. It's also a fantastic place to visit if you're ever in that part of the world http://www.naturescape.co.uk/cgi-bin...html&NOLOGIN=1

[roitelet]

I dug a big hole and lined it with pond liner. Lo and behold the wildlife moved in before it was even full

Since then I have introduced pond weed, waterlilies and several other plants. Now three years later it is teeming with frogs, newts, water beetles of all sorts, water measurers, back swimmers and several different types of dragon fly, and lots of other creatures yet to be identified. Still waiting for the toads!

I think that without too much trouble creatures will just arrive in a wildlife pond. The best advice I could offer is to let it do its own thing, put up with a bit of algae and in time, about three years, it will sort itself out.

Best of luck

[Paul Wagland]

Aldi have a few pond plants for �3.99 this week. Not many native species though, apart from flowering rushes (Buttomus umbelatus) which are well worth a look.

[blackkitty]

Watercress is really good for helping to get the water balance right and keeping the water clear. Buy a bag and put some in a glass of water until it roots then chuck it in. It'll grow quite happily, I have to pull loads out every few months, but it makes good compost. Don't eat watercress grown like this though.

[carlseawolf]

try pratical fishkeeping they have a web site and it's free to join.