Creating a small container pond

I want to have a pond in my garden to attract wildlife but there's not much space. I've heard it's possible to create a small container pond in an old half barrel or stone trough. Has anyone any experience of doing this - and what worked and what didn't? I have a space that's just under 1m x 1m and I plan to dig the container into the ground. Also, any ideas about plants? I don't want fish as I want frogs and dragonflies to visit but I do want some nice non-invasive plants.

Hi Buddlieja, yes you can make a small container/pond and that is the easy bit, all you do is make sure your container has no harmfull chemicals to seep out from the barrel/container, as you said, you dig the hole after testing that the container is water tight, sink it into the hole and backfill, if you wish, you can use the backfill earth to plant marginal plants like hostas iris etc, once you fill your pond, you must make sure you have a large slanting stone or chicen wire sloping up to the side so that any wild life can escape IF they fall in, like hedgehogs, frogs /toads etc also need to get out. as regards plants, you would be better off going to a water garden plant person or water/ponds on net to view all the plants as it really depends on how deep the pond water is, some water lilies are small enough to grow in this size of container so long as you choose one for that depth of water, then some others can be raised up onto a brick so they are growing to the right depth, plus you need proper water compost and baskets plus gravel to prevent the soil floating away when put the plants into the pond, that is not hard, the only thing you have to keep in mind is that ordinery garden soil/compost wont do as it leaches out and will cause the wrong bacteria to grow in your pond, also remember you will need 1/2 oxigenateing plants to keep the water clear or you will end up with a green slimmy pool that no wildlife or plants will survive, you should also take care not to buy any plants that will grow over the surface as your pond is rather small, stick to ones that will offer hight, this all sound really complicated, but honestly, with the right plants, it is as easy as filling your kitchen sink, just a wee bit of homework, it will take a few weeks to have clear water though, as the pool needs time to settle and get working properly, next time you are in the garden center, look for a book on container pools or the librery, it really is fun and you will attract a whole lot of wildlife that the average gardener would never see. Charlie Dimmock has books on this very subject.
Good luck and happy wildlife watching. WeeNel.UK.

Hi Buddleja! WeeNel has covered it off pretty thoroughly for you.

I do have a pond made from a 1/2 whiskey barrel. What I did was use pond liner to line it so I didn't have to worry about it being water tight or leaching harmful substances into the water. Then I added a healthy layer - about 3 or 4 inches - of small stones and gravel to the bottom. This will act in concert with the vegetation you add as a natural bio-filter for the water - beneficial bacteria will build up in it and aid with filtration and waste breakdown. Finally, I filled it with water and let it sit for 24 hours before going any further.

For plants I added 1 Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), 1 small Umbrella Plant (Cyperus involucratus), and one very small Black Magic Taro (Colocasia esculenta). I left them in the nursery containers to keep them rootbound so they would stay small and just topped the containers with pea gravel and sunk them into the pond. Since I purchased these from a nursery that specializes in aquatic plants they were already planted in the correct soil type, and I had no problems with the soil leaching out. I've always found that amphibious wildlife is more attracted to even these small ponds if there is something floating on top (like a water hyacinth) to give them something to hide from predators under. Also, if the pond is predominantly in the sun it helps keep algae growth down to have the surface partially covered.

To allow critters to escape I piled stones slanting up one side and topped it with a small piece of flagstone that had one end sitting right on the pond's edge to keep it stable.

Then I sat back, enjoyed, and waited for the initial cycle of waste buildup (cloudy water) followed by bacteria buildup (sparkling clean water) to occur over the next few weeks. Et voila! A lovely miniature pond to calm the senses.

Good luck with yours!

--Ginny

My quick input. Make sure if your using new soil for any of the plants to use "Aquatic soil". It doesn't have any ingredients that might cloud the water or add harmful bacteria.

Thanks WeeNell, Ginny and Melsalz for all these great tips. I'll be at the garden centre soon to check out the plants and I'll pick up a book as well - I do like Charlie Dimmock when I've seen her on TV and heard her on Gardeners' Question Time (radio programme). And I can't wait for the sensory therapy that I'm going to get!

I really like the idea of the half barrel and the pond liner sounds like an excellent idea for making it leak proof. Another project to get started on. Ta all.