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| Go greener |
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| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
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| Relax and refresh |
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| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
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| Food heaven |
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| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
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| The Discovery Walk |
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| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
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Ponds, pools and water features
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| Thursday, 13th March 2008 |
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IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
For me there is no doubt that one of the greatest joys in the garden is a pond. You just have to watch the fish, the frogs, and the other forms of wildlife to immediately feel that there is peace in this world. Watching waterboatmen and peering at pond skater insects is, actually, a bit of a hobby of mine!
If you have a pond, and you’ve installed a pump, there’s the relaxing sound of a trickling fountain or cascade of water tumbling over well-placed stone.
Tranquillity itself.
But hang on…if you haven’t got a pond or water feature you’ll need to install one, and if you have, it’s probably looking a little on the sad side right now.
First things first…if you want to put in a pond, how do you go about it?
Rigid moulded liners made from vacuum-formed plastic are widely available and popular, but you are very restricted as to the shape and size of your pond, and digging the hole and levelling the rigid liner is a monotonous process. Concrete ponds are an alternative, but concrete has largely had its day, and making one takes a great degree of skill, time and hard labour.
Flexible liners are the best option really. These are essentially waterproof sheets, available in pre-cut sizes in packs, or on rolls where you can take any length to suit. The best reliability comes with rubber sheeting (known as butyl), and the wonderful thing is that they enable you to build a pond of any shape or size.
So, how much liner should you buy? It’s quite a precise art. It is crucial that you get enough, as joining two bits together is difficult (although not impossible), expensive (you’ll need at least 50g of liner glue per metre of gluing seam), and it pretty much means that leaks could occur in future years.
Calculating the amount of liner required can be a problem, so use this simple formula:
Length of sheet required = pond length plus 2 x pond depth, plus an extra 60cm (2ft).
Width of sheet required = pond width plus 2 x pond depth, plus an extra 60cm (2ft).
This should give you plenty of scope.
Installing a flexible liner is not that difficult. Here is the 6-point plan:
1. Stay with gentle curves and simple shapes. Avoid sharp corners and fussiness.
2. Both gently sloping and straight vertical sides can also cause problems, so it is better to aim for 20° sides.
3. Remove any sharp stones or rubble from the sides and base of the pond, and tread the area well to firm it. Line the hole with 5cm (2in) of damp sand, or use a pond underlay.
4. Unfold the liner, and allow it to sag into the hole, then lightly anchor it with a few large rocks or slabs around its edge.
5. Slowly fill the liner with water, and as it takes the weight of the water, adjust it into neat folds, but do not pull or stretch it.
6. Leave the liner to settle overnight, and then trim the edges to the shape of the pond, leaving at least 30cm (12in) overlap for anchorage. The pond is now ready for edging, planting, and so on.
It is around the end of May and beginning of June when most people get round to installing ponds and water features (except they won’t be able to in our part of the country this year!). But when you think about it, it’s a strange time of year to be doing it, as putting in a pond can create quite a bit of upheaval and mess around the garden. It’s far better really to do it now, before things start moving.
Any form of water in the garden will be a haven for wildlife. Even a small, self-contained water feature, such as a water-tub or mini wall fountain will attract wildlife. Insects, birds, amphibians and small mammals are drawn to water like metal filings to a magnet. Frogs and toads will be attracted to ground-level water – and a bonus to their presence is that they’ll reduce significantly the number of slugs in your garden. And you might attract a family of newts. These lizard-like amphibians are not as common as once they were, and being really shy creatures they’re nowhere near as evident in our gardens as I’d like.
But make sure that the sides of your pond are set at an angle, so that these amphibians can get out of the water; they’ll drown if they can’t. Stones and masses of tall water plants, such as irises, will help these creatures too.
A pond shouldn’t be thought of as just another bit of garden – it’s a complete world of its own! Happy Gardening!
Fine fish and fine fishing
If you enjoy being near to water – and seeing fish at close quarters, there are three well-stocked lakes at Priory Farm (one of which was established by the Victorians). Together they total more than 9acres, and they’re stocked with carp (up to 30lb), Crucian carp, roach, perch, tench, rudd and bream.
The Fishing Lakes is a coarse fishing club popular with anglers who enjoy naturally beautiful surroundings. The season starts on 1 April and membership numbers are limited to ensure anglers never have to worry about over-crowding.
Take a look at photographs of the Lakes and find out how you can join, by visiting www.prioryfarmfishing.co.uk or ring 01737 823304.
This week in your garden
Remove decaying leaves from around spring bedding plants, and feed these plants with a general fertiliser sometime during the month. Hoe it in carefully, so as not to disturb any bulb that may be coming up.
Check blackcurrant bushes for gall mites that can attack the buds, making them swell. Remove any infected buds, and burn them.
Force hydrangeas, heathers and other potted shrubs by bringing them into the greenhouse or conservatory, so that they will flower early, and brighten up a dull day!
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
NEXT WEEK: Spring lawn care
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