WHEN Leonardo da Vinci said, “Water is the driving force of all nature”, I doubt he was talking about UK garden ponds.
But when it comes to boosting your outside’s ecosystem, he’s spot on.
If you’re lucky enough to have frogs and newts, it’s time for them to leave their waterworlds and find somewhere to hibernate for winter, such as compost heaps, log piles or under rocks.
Or they can hide deep inside thick leaf litter and animal burrows.
This leaves you free to replenish, refill and reorder.
Dawn Fisher, from Chelsea Gold-winning Lincolnshire Pond Plants, told me: “Now is the time to get rid of dead leaves, chop back all the plants to the sides of the pots and stop things running wild in your pond.
“Once you’ve done that, it’s a good time to plant, so when your frogs and newts return and you get all your frog spawn in March, you’ve already got everything established.
“Fallen leaves will decay and add more nutrients to your water — creating a kind of fertiliser — and come spring when we get sunshine, nutritious water mixed with sunlight gives you the green water and the blanket weed.
“Also, you don’t want to empty it completely because if you’ve got any dragonfly larvae in the bottom of your pond, they can stay there for up to five years.
“But it’s best to use a mix of rainwater and tap water to top it up.
“Rainwater from your roof contains bird muck, which again is nutritious and does not contain harmful chemicals, but you don’t want too much of it.
“Tap water, on the other hand, contains phosphorus and chemicals.
“A mixture of the two is sometimes better because then you dilute both.
“The pond plants need to earn their living by taking out all the excess nutrients and keeping your water clean.
“It’s also worth remembering that when you do have your new pond plants, whether they’re established or in plugs, they must be in aquatic fertiliser as your usual garden compost is way too high in nutrients.
“And don’t think you need a big pond. Something like a sunken or raised washing-up bowl insulated by plants in pots around it will still encourage wildlife.
“The only problem is that they get warmer and evaporate quicker.
“The wildlife does need to get in and out of the pond, which is why tiered pots at three levels will help.
DAWN'S FAVOURITE WATER PLANTS
MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA: Grows around edges of ponds with starry white flowers from spring. Frogs and newts hide in it.
MARSILEA QUADRIFOLIA: Thrives in boggy and shallow margins. Hardy, aquatic fern with little four-leaf clover leaves.
HYDROCOTYLE NOVAE: Sits below water with little pennies above. Helps with water clarity and roots remove excess nutrients.
POTENTILLA PALUSTRIS: Aids pollinators, offers shelter for creatures, and stays neatly contained without taking over.
IRIS LOUISIANA: Thrives in wet, marginal soil, provides striking summer flowers, and helps naturally filter the water.
“But once your pond is established, it will bring all sorts of benefits very quickly, whether it be water boatmen or dragonflies, which suss out the water as soon as they fly over and see a reflection.
“You’ll get frogs and newts which need water to reproduce.
“And it encourages insects, which means more vegetable pollination. Then the birds come for the insects, which pollinate your flowers.
“Having a pond is a huge boost to your garden’s ecosystem — and they can look fabulous, too.”
Also in Veronica's Column this week….
Top tips, gardening news, Plant of the Week and win an autumn renovation bundle.
For more gardening content, follow me @biros_and_bloom
SAVE: IT’S time to scarify your lawn and rake up thatch and moss. Harrod Horticultural’s scarifying rake for £110.95 while Screwfix’s Spear & Jackson version is £38.99.
WIN! WE’RE giving five readers the chance to win an autumn lawn renovation bundle worth £57 from The Relentless Gardener.
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PLANT OF THE WEEK! SOLLYA heterophylla ‘Ultra Blue’ is an unusual half-hardy evergreen climber, which gives beautiful, bell-shaped flowers all summer up until around now. It is great in pots but needs to be moved to a warm frost-free location in winter.
Get 20 per cent off at thompson-Morgan.com/sunoffers. T&Cs apply.
SCHOOL SHROOM: GET your kids involved in the magical world of mushrooms during a free Little Seedlings workshop.
These will take place at Dobbies Garden Centres across the UK on Sunday, October 4, and there will be a mini activity and the chance to create a mirror-print mushroom painting to take home. For more details, visit dobbies.com.
HOW TO ACER IT: WITH October only days away, it’s time to pay attention to your acers.
Until now, their high internal pressure means they would bleed sap heavily if you pruned them – which drains their energy and stunts growth. By next month, once the maple enters its dormant phase, sap pressure stabilises, and bleeding is virtually eliminated.
Do not cut yet, but take a close look at its shape while the leaves are still on.
Surprisingly, it’s much easier to spot crossing branches, or ones that have grown too low to the ground right now than it is when the tree is bare.
Tie a piece of coloured string around branches you intend to remove later.
Snip off any shrivelled, blackening leaves and any signs of physical damage or diseased wood. Once the branches are bare, you can prune without risk of “bleeding”.
If your acer is in a pot, raise it to stop water pooling and root rot.
THIS WEEK’S JOB: GET overwintering onions, garlic, spring cabbage and autumn-planted strawberries in the ground. Split hostas, day lilies and hardy geraniums.
TRY FIVE DAINTY DAFFS: IT’S daffodil bulb-planting season, for sure.
But if you fancy thinking outside the box, here’s five which will make you look twice – and only one of them is yellow.
- Golden Bells – has an oversized, flared yellow trumpet that looks exactly like a miniature, swinging hoop petticoat.
- Thalia – produces clusters of nodding pure white flowers with elegant petals that sweep gracefully backwards like an orchid.
- Delnashaugh – is heavily layered with whorls of creamy white petals packed around a densely ruffled, peach-pink centre.
- Apricot Whirl – has a central cup, split wide open and splayed flat, mimicking the ruffled wings of a peach-coloured butterfly.
- Pheasant’s Eye – showcases pristine white petals surrounding a tiny, flat yellow disc rimmed in blood-red.