A small pond to welcome the garden animals

This gardening article proposes to create a water point, even very modest, to allow insects, birds, lizards and toads to drink, cool off or swim.

It recommends a sunny and quiet location, dug on a gentle slope ten, thirty, or even fifty centimeters deep, with irregular landings allowing small animals to descend and especially to come out easily. The surface can be limited to one square meter. The bottom is tapped and, if the ground allows water to escape too quickly, covered with a thick black plastic.

Stones of various sizes and branches joining the bank should offer rest and passages. The rains of early winter then fill the pond, which can accommodate frogs, dragonflies, salamanders and butterflies in spring.

The author advises to conserve mud, dead leaves, plant debris and branches, useful for food and refuges for small wildlife, rather than looking for a place that is too clean. The pond lives to the rhythm of the seasons, even reduced to mud in the summer. In case of complete drought, a stream of rainwater can be added without disturbing the animals. The photograph shows a pond in an English garden.

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/PhDoc11/FlaqueLaCroix.jpg