Tuesday 11 April 2017

How I made my washing up bowl pond.

The newest addition to my garden is a cute little washing up pond.  I don't have room for a big pond, but any amount of water is good for attracting wildlife and bringing balance to the garden.

How I made my washing up bowl pond. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardening #washingupbowlpond #minipond #suburbangarden #permaculturegarden #wildlifegarden

I was inspired by the RSPB, who recommend making mini ponds as part of it's 'homes for nature' scheme, and you can find their instructions here, but this is what I did to make my very own washing up bowl pond, 

You will need,

a washing up bowl
gravel
stones
sticks
terracotta plant pots
rainwater
pond weed
and tools, a spade and a spirit level

How I made my washing up bowl pond. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardening #washingupbowlpond #minipond #suburbangarden #permaculturegarden #wildlifegarden

Your little pond needs to be in a spot where it's light but not in full on sunshine all day.  The first step is to just dig a hole that your washing up bowl will fit into.

How I made my washing up bowl pond. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardening #washingupbowlpond #minipond #suburbangarden #permaculturegarden #wildlifegarden

Next, use a spirit level to check the bowl is level and adjust the hole accordingly if necessary. 

How I made my washing up bowl pond. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardening #washingupbowlpond #minipond #suburbangarden #permaculturegarden #wildlifegarden

Pop the washing up bowl in the hole and fill in any big gaps round the sides with soil.  Then you get to do the fun bit - making a nice little habitat for your underwater friends.  I added gravel to the base and a little terracotta pot for critters to hide in.  It's a really good idea to have a pile of stones and a stick to act as a ramp in and out of the pond so no-one gets stuck in there if they fall in (hedgehogs, I'm looking at you!).

How I made my washing up bowl pond. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardening #washingupbowlpond #minipond #suburbangarden #permaculturegarden #wildlifegarden

Fill your mini pond with rainwater and add some pond weed.  My mum has a pond, so she kindly gave me some water, weed and frogspawn to start my pond off, but this isn't essential - the wildlife will find your pond all on it's own!  If you have some big stones and gravel then add them round the edges of the washing up bowl pond to make it look pretty, and to provide an extra habitat too.  The broken plant pot is there to hopefully tempt a frog or two to hang out by the pond!

How I made my washing up bowl pond. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardening #washingupbowlpond #minipond #suburbangarden #permaculturegarden #wildlifegarden

For a final flourish I planted some mind your own business (also dug up from around mums pond!) round the edge of the pond to hide the top of the washing up bowl a little bit.

And that's it.  Because I added water from an established pond I already have lots of wildlife in my mini pond.  I've spotted freshwater shrimp, water fleas, water snails and tadpoles.  It's well exciting.

My next plan?  Washing up bowl ponds all over the garden, and a bin lid bog area!


How I made my washing up bowl pond. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardening #washingupbowlpond #minipond #suburbangarden #permaculturegarden #wildlifegarden




 

23 comments:

  1. We've an established pond which is a busy little watering hole but I found a small tufa trough we'd made years ago that I have my eyes on to have another little pondlette on the other side of the garden. There is something rather pleasing watching insects visiting water. You have really made yours look really inviting.

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    1. I think your tufa will make a lovely pondette! I toyed with the idea of a concrete trough or old sink, but I had everything on hand for the washing up bowl pond so that's what I ended up doing!

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  2. Oooooh, thank you. We bought a new washing up bowl this weekend, and we want a small pond, I think you're a genius!

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  3. I love this idea and you've put it together so well. I hope you will update us with any visiting wildlife. I might create something like this myself once Lily would be less likely to jump in it! X

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    1. Thank you, so far o new wildlife but the tadpoles are getting fatter!

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  4. Such a lovely idea! I've thought about a small pot pond before but I hadn't considered submerging it into the ground.

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    1. It's supposed to be better sunk into the ground, so creatures can get in and out easily, and to insulate it during the winter (I read a story online about someone's washing up bowl pond that wasn't buried and their frogs froze solid in it over winter!!!)

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  5. Brilliant post! I've seen your washing up bowl pond before, but it was great to hear more about it :)

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  6. That's a great idea for a small space! Our pond is teeming with tadpoles, I'm excited! x

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    1. Yey, hope you get lots of frogs! I have a few fat tadpoles left (have they been eating each other I wonder?)

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  7. That looks so adorable! I've heard water like that is great for gardens to keep the bugs hydrated. I'd be afraid it'd turn in to a mosquito home though. Thanks for sharing at the #WasteLessWednesday Blog Hop!

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    1. We've always had ponds everywhere I've lived and never had mozzie problems, so it's not something that crossed my mind - I hope it's not a problem!

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  8. It looks absolutely brilliant! We had an amazing little pond when I grew up that my sister did a Biology project on. I wish, oh I wish she still had her project book- it had so many beautiful views of that garden!! We had Sticklebacks and allsorts!

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    1. Thank you, your pond sounds amazing - sticklebacks!! That's a proper pond!

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  9. Your homemade pond is awesome reminded me of ours when we had an allotment in Glasgow. We are hoping to make one again, similar to yours when we are bit more on top of our growing antics, but I am loving yours - absolutely wonderful and so good of your mum to give you some pondlife to kickstart, though no essential of course.

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    1. Thank you :) I know it's not really recommended to transplant frog spawn from one pond to another, but I'm really enjoying watching them (and most of the tadpoles in mums pond have died but mine live on so it hasn't harmed them!)

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  10. I have a spare bowl but I'm not sure what 'life' would come to our wee garden tho', there are no ponds for frogs anywhere near so no tadpoles or newts and sadly we simply never see hedgehogs anymore. So many bigger, lo get, stronger, fences & gates have gone up around us over the years. Do you think there would be any point making a pond? Thanks, Mo

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  11. Hi there..saw this on Pinterest and i am definitely going to give it a go..love your blog byt the way
    ftm

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  12. What an excellent idea. Well worth trying. Thanks heaps.

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  13. Susie, I'm making a small tip sheet for people who want to install a garden wildlife pond but would also like to include just an image of a smaller sunken bowl like yours - it takes less commitment and is something people might actually feel able to do. Would you be OK if I used one of your photos? Credited #secondandsusie? TIA. Rob

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    1. Hi Rob, sorry for the (probably too) late reply! But yes that's fine!

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