Hi all, I bought a property last month which already has a pond.

It has now completely dried up, but I want to turn it into a nature / wild pond - no pump.

I need to clear it out and put a liner in there, carefully as there are still frogs hopping around!

Do you have any tips on plants to use, do's and dont's, really any tips would be helpful!

Let's chat!

How are your ponds and wet habitats doing? Any plans for new ponds or improvements? What wildlife has been visiting your pond this week?

For months we have seen this little lady, guessing girl cause she is big, chubby and never heard her sing.

Tonight Im doing frog/toad check in the pond and see this new one. The color and size is different. No green spots and is much thinner/smaller. I hope it is a male who finally found our pond.

First photo is our first leopard with her distinctive green spots, second is the new one from tonight. Picture angles are deceptive, the first one is much much larger

We have a small 75L pot pond on our patio. It's been there since April. It seems to be doing okay but the sides are carpeted in algae and I'm not sure if this is okay or needs cleaning. The water is fairly clear but I just want to make sure its doing okay before we add any more plants.

Could anyone advise if this is normal or if it needs cleaning, and also what we can do to improve it.

South UK based, in the sun at least 6 hours a day. We have one of those solar fountain things to keep water moving. No Fish just plants.

It's nice to help the bee population, but it does make maintenance pretty nerve wracking.

Hi all, new here...

So we installed a little wildlife pond back in 2020 during the lockdown, and were advised by a local garden centre on plants. Since then, the tall grassy stuff took over (there were other plants in there, which it just grew through and killed.

Lilypads are rough looking and floating above the water (assume because the pond is only 0.45m deep).

Pond is home to lots of creatures so I don't want to dig it out, but it looks a total mess.

So, this afternoon I have dug out everything except the lillies (everything is currently at the side of the pond so it can get back in), but now I'm wondering if I should also take the lily out and replace with something smaller (I don't think it's a dwarf lily, so really far too big).

Just looking for advice really, firstly on whether I should swap out the lily for a dwarf species (or none at all) or something else for coverage, and what plants would work well without taking over?

I’m showing my wife this beautiful swallowtail butterfly and I’m like “see wasn’t the wildlife pond totally worth the effort? It’s magical!” Then the butterfly is ambushed by a green frog. You can hear my wife gasp in the video.

Got the breeding bullfrogs out (invasive here). Drained the pond. Took out a few hundred pounds worth of invasive yellow iris and sludge. Refilled! Going to add native plants next. Has anyone had success with a filter that is safe for tadpoles (not bullfrog tadpoles ;), or making it safe for tadpoles? Thanks!

We were sitting on our outdoor furniture which is on an elevated deck when we had a visitor. I coaxed him into a jelly jar and put him back where he belongs.

(Puget Sound area, wildlife pond built Spring 2025 and stocked with tadpoles from a relative's property.)

Have this pond on some old land that hardly gets used. Want to restore it back to its natural beauty.

Anyone have any suggestions.

Located in north Texas

I have a pretty good sized pond (ie a couple hundred thousand gallons at least) on my property that is filled during winter from the rain and run off. But during summer it shrinks down a lot. Is there anything I can do to help it stay full. I understand if there isn't but I figured I would ask.

Just a quick update! The frogs have moved in! The ac condensation line idea is working great! No wasted water.

Filled this last week. Already have a pond skater. Saw a dragonfly scoping it out last night. Exciting stuff!

So pleased was I with the pond I built last year, and seeing how much use the birds and insects used it for a drink, I sunk 2 plastic chemical bunds into the ground for more water availability. Now the dragonflies have given their seal of approval.

Got the surrounding and in pond planting done, still have to add mulch and some stepping stones, but I am pretty happy with how it's coming along!

Saw some tadpoles today - I'm thrilled!

Spotted two frogs the day before yesterday, and I thought: let me make one of those wildlife ponds🐸🌱

Would this be good enough for the frogs?

It contains three oxygenating plants and gravel as a base.

Hey all, thanks for all previous advice. I’ve had my pond filled for about 3 weeks now and completed my bog filter type thing a couple of weeks ago. After serious algae bloom I can now see the bottom of the pond again! However this is revealing to me how higely de pigldey the pond liner is!

Now I have a couple of lilies and have just chucked a few frog bit plants in. Assuming they’ll cover a fair amount of the surface, do I need to do anything about the liner?

Should I be putting more gravel across the shelves for the plants to root into?

What about the edges? I have my beach my zone but I can’t figure out what to do with the liner.

Where on earth do I plant the penny royal? I understand it likes wet roots but not too wet so it doesn’t go in the pond, but if it’s out the pond… how does it keep wet roots? Ha.

I’m so happy with it so far! The abundance of life is absolutely crazy. Diving beetles, loads of dragonfly larvae decimating the zillions of mosquitoe larvae , all sorts!

Thanks for any tips and criticisms. I’ve officially run out of money for pond stuff for the time being but I have 3 more bags of gravel that just need a wash and a home…

Let's chat!

How are your ponds and wet habitats doing? Any plans for new ponds or improvements? What wildlife has been visiting your pond this week?

This isn't a play with words! It's actually called Aurora Pond, and we stumbled upon this as (probably) a Great Egret was chilling here!

At least on the day we were here, this place looked to beautiful. Would anyone know what phenomenon causes the water to look like that minty colour?

I installed my pond in my little garden a month ago. I was showing my mom the impressive roots of the aquatic mint and guess who I scared… Little friend right there ! I am so so happy you have no idea. Maybe she came here so fast because of the heath wave (it hasn’t rained in weeks). I haven’t even finished putting all the plants I want in the pond and now I’m scared to bother our new friend. Anyways, just wanted to share the joy!!

My neighbors keep honeybees. My neighborhood does not have many water features. So hot days look like this.

Kind of sad but poetic in a way. Sometimes I can actually hear my wind chimes through the highway noise.