PONDS

There are five ponds in the gardens: three with butterfly koi and comet fish, one with catfish, and one with bream. Terrapins,frogs and a variety of other wildlife visit the ponds, and on very hot days the bees swarm onto the lily pads and vie with wasps and ants to satiate their thirst.

before putting in the pond

laying the pond liner

after filling the pond

After filling the pond and waiting for a week, we then added the fish:

water lilies

butterfly koi

The reed pond attracts dragonflies, butterflies, terrapins, frogs and toads:

terrapin

plain grass frog

toad

Among the plants are: Nymphaea thunbergiana, Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, Nymphaea ‘red’, Nymphaea ‘chromatella’, Nymphaea ‘COLONEL A J Welsch’, Nymphaea ‘mid pink’, Nymphaea ‘white’, Nelumbo nucifera, Aponogeton distachys, Pontederia cordata, Cyperus papyrus, Cyperus prolifer miniata, Cyperus textilis, Berula repanda, Echinodorus bleheri, Alisma plantago aquatica, Iris pseudacorus (yellow), Iris pseudacorus ‘japanese’, Ludwigia abyssinica, Marsilea spp., Arundo donax, Cyperus dives, Cyperus eragrostis, Cyperus marginatus, Schoenoplectus brachyceras, Heteranthera callifolia, Persicaria senegalensis