Water Features

How to Create a Wildlife Pond

A beautiful wildlife pond will attract a whole host of beneficial animals, birds and insects. Make one with sloping sides, to allow easy access for creatures to come and go, and leafy edges that offer habitat and cover.

Excerpted from How to Grow Practically Everything
Filed under: Ponds, How To, Foliage Plants

When to Start: Late winter or early spring
At Its Best: Spring to early fall
Time to Complete: 2-3 days

Materials Needed:

hose
shovel
long length of wood
level
old carpet or pond underlay
butyl pond liner
sharp knife

large stones
mortar
trowel
pond plants
aquatic soil
pond baskets
gravel

Mark Out the Pond

Using a hose, mark out the pond with sweeping curves for a natural effect. Calculate the area of liner you will need by adding twice the total depth (D), plus 18 inches extra, to the length (L). Then add twice the depth (D), plus 18 inches extra, to the width (W), and multiply the two answers (see also Step 2 below): (2xD + 18in + L) x (2xD + 18in. + W).

Define Wildlife Pond Borders with a Garden Hose

Dig Down

Dig out the whole area of the pond to a depth of 18 inches, and angle the sides so that they slope slightly. Leave a 12- to 18-inch-wide shelf around the sides at this depth. Then dig out a central area 3 feet deep, and an adjacent area, about 30 inches deep, creating two deeper areas to keep plants and wildlife frost-free in winter.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Level

It's essential that the top edges of the pond are level all the way round, or water will drain out unevenly. Place a level on a straight plank of wood and test the level in six or seven different places, building up or removing soil as necessary.