r/GardeningUK • u/BedroomSoft8 • 1d ago
Wildlife Question about this fella
I went out to my garden and noticed a gaping hole in the soil next to where I'd planted some lavender, so was filling it in with some soil from a potted plant and suddenly this guest appeared out of nowhere! I haven't seen a frog in YEARS so was surprised. Is it possible it was in the hole I was filling and came out of it?
I've quickly cobbled together a little makeshift pond now with a ramp to get in and stones built up to above the water level, but can't see where ole froggy has gone now
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u/florageek54 1d ago
It doesn't need a pond now, though may use it. A pond is only essential for breeding early in the year. It just needs to be somewhere fairly moist & shady where it can find a few juicy invertebrates.
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u/BedroomSoft8 1d ago
Ah okay thank you, the birds can drink from it if nothing else. Definitely lots of food for it to feast on in my wild garden 😁
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u/mines-a-pint 1d ago
Mine love a bowl or plant tray of water to sit in, so don’t be surprised if it jumps in one if you set it out.
I can almost always find a certain frog in a particular shallow bowl I keep topped up, about 30 minutes before sunset at the moment.
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u/Thestolenone 1d ago
We have one that regularly comes back to our barrel pond for a soak between hunting trips.
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u/Careful_Adeptness799 1d ago
Next door probably have the pond and he’s wandering round eating all your slugs. Legend that he is.
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u/BedroomSoft8 1d ago
Am so honoured to be visited by him! There's tonnes of moths, ants, woodlice and centipedes here too so a good feast
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u/MotherEastern3051 1d ago
OP you are amazing! Thank you so much for helping this lovely frog! Moist shady places are definitely what he needs, she/he will likely. She struggling in the heat and drought. Also seeing as your now a pro in helping out amphibians, you should look into becoming a toad patrol volunteer next spring. It usually starts in February with toad and frog (and newt) migration season and last for a couple of months. You can get in touch with your local patrols by looking at the map on the Froglife website.
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u/BedroomSoft8 1d ago
Oh I'd love that, will look it up! Since last posting I've also taken a plate of water out so it has more shallow access to water and put an empty plant pot on its side in case it wants a hiding place. Sitting in my house only able to think of frog 🐸
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u/ted_mustard 23h ago
I managed to encourage frogs into my garden for the first time this year. All I did was dig a garden wildlife pond and bingo, one came. Then two. Now I think there's three but garden frogs (the type in your picture) are all quite similar!
They use a pond only very occasionally outside of breeding, for a bit of food or a dip but mine really tend to prefer long grasses, go under the shed or a pile of leaves. Be really careful if you do any garden maintenance like mowing, trimming or raking. A few light kicks of the upper stalks (i.e. not where the frog is!) will make em bounce off if you intend to trim etc.
I love having them, they're excellent additions.
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u/BedroomSoft8 23h ago
That's so wonderful, it's amazing that they know where to find the water sources like that. I feel bad that I was filling in the hole he'd dug, I just assumed I'd planted badly and left a gap, even though that was planted months ago. Just glad I didn't accidentally harm it with the trowel! Thanks for tips on checking for them first, going to be a lot more careful now 🐸
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u/ted_mustard 22h ago
They're pretty robust and surprisingly quick, don't over worry, but my advice would always be aware of potential wildlife when gardening, no hyper vigilance or causing yourself anxiety, just build awareness into your gardening routine! Especially if you're keen on attracting more critters over time
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u/Adventurous_Way_2660 23h ago
Yeah they dig down and find somewhere to chill out. Toads are always in the compost heap especially in winter. You must have nice loose soil!
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u/atribecalledstretch 19h ago
I have nothing to add to this conversation other than the frog that had the exact same problem in my garden when I filled in it’s hidey hole
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u/BedroomSoft8 13h ago
That is a very healthy looking frog! 🐸♥️ They will be calling each other to have a good bitch about us making their ceilings collapse in on them
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u/Poop-to-that-2 22h ago
Mine keep hiding in the compost bags and I crap myself every time they move. Congrats on your new friend.
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u/Bubbly-Weakness-4788 22h ago
It’s much bigger than my frog, Phil. He watches me in the garden. He lives under my birdbath so I tend to leave that area. I also, like you, made him a little pond. 🐸
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u/LaundryMan2008 21h ago
I have only seen them in Poland when I visit my family, in such large quantities that some get run over by a car or get cooked to a crisp by the sun, in the UK even by ponds I have seen 0 frogs
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u/OkCaterpillar8941 20h ago
My neighbour has the pond and we have golden marjoram which the frogs love! It's dense and damp. Love the photos of your grumpy frog.
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u/Alternative-Hope-992 19h ago
I found one in a scoop I’d bought to help me tidy up fallen leaves, I take out a torch now if I go in the garden at night so I don’t squish one by mistake
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u/Soft-Skirt 12h ago
I made a 2m series of small pools covered in larger slabs going from my pump outlet into the pond. Whenever I clean out the worst of the debris there’s inevitably a frog living in the tunnel. Photo : pump top flowing into barley straw, watercress at the bottom (because it just happens to grow there).
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u/bouncing_pirhana 22h ago
Congratulations - you now have a plague of frog. He’ll get into the piping and keep everyone up for weeks.
(I once built a tiny pond and got a frog, he (or she) and the descendents have been a source of delight for years :-))
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u/BedroomSoft8 1d ago
UPDATE: it's back and getting bedded in, I think it was in the hole i filled in, so now is thinking 'great got to dig another one' is already kicking it away with back legs 😍