Barrel Pond Advice

I'll explain to everyone for you @Outlander ...head first

 

Well, I have the old bath, which is larger and I could rig up an overhead shower too

 

I have just bought a large plastic planter to serve as a small wildlife pond as I don't have the room for a 'real' pond. It is only just over 2ft across and so far I have sited it but it will be buried about a foot deep. I have got a curved basket and hessian liner for the three marginals. Once in place I will fill it with rain water and then put some native oxygenating plants and water soldier in, I am not sure whether to put a pygmy water lily in as well. I am not putting a pump in. I will put some logs or something for frogs or newts to gain access (if there are any around).
It is mainly to attract Dragon and Damsel flies.

Anyone see any negatives that I haven't thought about? If the water froze could the planter split?

 

@luciusmaximus you mean like this mate

 

@strongylodon all i can say on the subject is...add the water lily as i always think those look the job but otherwise it seems like you've got things covered

 

That's it, but you forgot the wine

 

@strongylodon I'm no expert but I would think it would depend on the thickness and quality of the plastic. I never had any issues with my container ponds as regards splitting. I put plastic balls and bottle caps into the water to prevent the water from freezing solid and the one pond had a small heater.

Good luck with your new mini pond . Pics would be good

 

Wine i don't know @luciusmaximus ...i was thinking more in the terms of

 

Just catching up with this thread after a few days away in Yorkshire. Showers? Baths? Whisky?? I don't think those kinds of shenanigans will be happening in my barrel!

@Outlander: on the contrary, I think the more said about your escapades in the pond the better! I hope @Gail_68's Jack Daniels wasn't involved!

@luciusmaximus - love your pond photos. The new pond looks beautifully situated, and I bet you are raring to get planting in and around it.

@strongylodon, I'm hoping to do more or less the same as you with the barrel. Definitely would like a water lily too! Your curved baskets sound intriguing. Do you mean circular, or curved to fit around the curved edge? The answer is probably clear already if I read your comments tomorrow when I am a lot less tired .

I noticed a lot of oily residue on the top of the water that has gathered in the barrel while I was away. I'm planning to let rainwater collect for a couple of week and see if the oiliness goes away. At least the smell of whisky has dissipated. I was worried my lovely neighbour might think I was making whisky and not sharing!

 

@Irmemac hope you had a nice time in Yorkshire . My husband went to Wakefield a few days ago and said there is still snow around, especially on Saddleworth Moor.

The oily residue could be chemicals in the wood leaching out or whiskey. Or residue from cleaning product if you scrubbed the barrel out beforehand.

I have several kidney shaped aquatic baskets, which are a good fit against a rounded pond. They take up less space than round, rectangular or square baskets so ideal for a small pond. They might be the baskets @strongylodon referred to. I paid £1.99 per basket. It pays to shop around as they can be considerably more and they're just plastic baskets. I used cosmetic baskets in the belfast sink, 99p each. So long as the planter is open weave ' type so plant roots can grow through it doesn't really matter, but avoid flimsy looking baskets as they will likely break.

So, now I've shown you mine how about you show me yours .

 

Here's mine, it's a Stewart Blenheim imitation barrel. I am going to sink it another foot deeper.

 

That's a nice barrel @strongylodon and it will look wonderful when you've got it planted up . Apart from the Lily which plants have you chosen?

 

Three for the basket, Typha minima, Caltha palustris and Juncus spiralis. I am not buying anything else until it is in situ.

 

Warms the blood up @Irmemac

 

going on here @luciusmaximus