When I first started wildscaping, providing adequate water for wildlife was the most intimidating aspect. I started very small — a saucer of water for a toad — and gradually worked my way up to larger bodies of water, always approaching projects with frugality in mind. I know many other homeowners are in the same boat, so to speak. We picture the ideal — a large backyard pond — but the initial costs can be overwhelming for those on a strict budget, not to mention the amount of digging that might be required. Birdbaths and saucers are the quick solution for a water resource, but eventually you might find that you want to take your water resources to the next level.
A pond doesn't have to be big -- wildlife are happy with small, too!
A small pond can provide drink for wildlife and a place for dragonflies and amphibians to lay their eggs.
You’ll want a basin of some sort. This might be as simple as a lined hole. For our front pond, we dug a hole, inserted an $11 rectangular tub used for mixing cement, then lined it with leftover rubber-liner scraps from another pond (we really didn’t even need the tub, but we chose to place it there for stability). I often see basins, liners, and other pond materials available for free or cheap on Craigslist, so see what you can find and reuse.
We obtained some flagstone leftovers from another homeowner on Craigslist and arranged them around the pond edge to hold the liner in place. We also used them to create a simple waterfall, and we made a sort of backdrop with rocks obtained from a neighbor. We also made sure to create an escape route — a ladder of rocks — to help small creatures escape if by chance they fell into the pond. We spent the big bucks ($36) on a small 300gph pump, guided the tube to let water trickle over the waterfall, and voila – we had a recirculating moving-water pond.
A Tawny Emperor rests on Horsetail Reed after sipping up minerals from the wet pond stones.
Inside the pond, I placed a little submerged Hornwort for oxygenation and pond-waste recycling, a Horsetail Reed plant, and a small umbrella plant, all collected from our other pond. Even pond plants are available on Craigslist, and often local pond clubs are more than happy to share their plants for free.
The sound of trickling water immediately brought toads and frogs, who began a nightly chorus. Mud daubers collect wet soil from the plants. Butterflies collect minerals from the wet stone. Birds bathe in and drink from the waterfall. The tiny pond has become a favorite place for dragonflies and damselflies to lay their eggs in, and we have found numerous nymphs in the pond. The moving water also keeps mosquitoes from laying their eggs, a good thing because this pond is right by our front door.
A new pond will draw happy amphibians fast. Be prepared to enjoy the serenades.
In total we spent about $47 on our little pond, but with a little extra patience and Craigslist surfing, we might have brought that cost down to $0.
So don’t be intimidated by high-cost ponds — small ones are beneficial, too, and wildlife don’t mind that you are on budget!
Meredith O’Reilly gardens for wildlife in Austin, Texas, and writes about her garden adventures at Great Stems.
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Great stuff Meredith. Your point is well taken that water features don’t have to be large to be beneficial.
My first “pond” was up in NYC (I lived on a “dirty lil creek” but wanted ornamental fish) and consisted of two 20 gal. and one smaller rubbermaid totes, one sunk in the ground and the other two fashioned on cinderblocks to pour into one another. Pump in the bottom one sent the water back up to the top. Addition of plants to hide the “ingredients” and voila…perfect for me, my fish and the frogs who arrived to nose around. I graduated some time later when I purchased a prefab jobbie as a birthday gift to myself, but I acquired the slates I used around it from a neighbor who was redoing their walk! At the time I was unaware of the importance of native plants the evils of invasives and even had a GASP! invasive water hyacinth, thankfully contained in my pond and eaten by the fish…usually in a matter of hours.
Arrival to Florida had me living on a huge retention pond just off a conservation area in Orlando with lots of wildlife. My move here to Holopaw came with a natural pond ( a HUGE buying point) which I “extended” ever so slightly (it is about 100 x 30 or so) so I could paddle around my kayak since that size is about all the stamina I have these days for paddling. I so enjoy it, as does the wildlife. Since my move, I’ve learned that I don’t need ornamental fish….the natives in my pond are much more rewarding and I don’t need to buy ornamental plants as the existing natives provide so much more excitement in the shape of native critters and I am protecting the environment by sticking with what belongs here.
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p.s. your setup is simply beautiful and should inspire those who don’t currently have a water feature to jump in and join the party!
Loret recently posted..Swallows Passing Through
Thanks, Loret — oh how I wish I had your giant natural pond, though!
I would really love a small pond and yours is just perfect and inspires me to try this size in my garden. I am at the numerous bird baths stage but thought maybe a container “pond” this year with some water plants, some rocks to add different levels. Then maybe from there, I can jump to a real (small) pond.
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Small is always good to start with — get your feet wet, so to speak!
I love you little pond. I started small too with a 90 gallon pond. I loved it so much I added a larger one in the backyard with a waterfall. The frogs and toads absolutely love it!! Nice pictures.
Amy
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Thanks, Amy! I’m always thinking about other optional water features — they draw in wildlife like a magnet.
So glad I found you. I reconstructed my property to a wild garden 4 years ago. I live on a canyon in URBAN San Diego and there was much to do. The joys of this “garden” have completely transformed my life. Why would anyone think a garden is a garden without fauna? It is the other half of a healthy garden. San Diego is a very dry climate, so my water sources are a couple of pre-existing fountains, small dishes and a mud area. They are in use constantly. meredith french in San Diego, Ca
It sounds like a small pond would be a great option for your wildlife and urban habitat!
I was wondering what kind of weekly, monthly and yearly maintenance is required for a smaller sized pond? I live in Las Vegas, and the summers are crazy hot, so I am sure the wild animals that visit my front yard, such as rabbits and birds, would love to cool off.
Heather, it’s not much at all, depending on where you situate it. For example, if you have it under trees, you’ll deal with a lot more leaves that can potentially clog the pump. In the sun, you might have some algae to deal with, but that’s why submerged grasses are so helpful. Our larger pond is out in the sun, but even so, we only do a once-yearly big maintenance and just visit from time to time to see if there’s anything else to help it along.
Ooh a pond big enough for a kayak … no, ours is now slowly being refilled, while we wait hopefully for autumn rain, instead of stressing our municipal reservoir of treated tapwater. The small ones have a different more friendly appeal! Do you still have that bubbling water feature, that the critters kept rearranging?
I didn’t like having to keep messing with it, Diana — the wildlife kept shifting the tube around and the water would run out. We transformed it into the little pond you see in the post. We loved the bubbling fountain, but the little pond is so much nicer.
Great inspiration. Your choice of native plants was such a good move. Aquatic insects eat native plants just like terrestrial insects. No native plants, no native aquatic insects.
Good information for us to think and dream about.
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