Amateur Gardening 14-Apr-2018

1 Lift the basket containing your water lilies from the water and place it on a bench or plastic sheeting at the side of the pond. 2 Divide the rootballs using a sharp garden knife. Make sure each healthy division has its own roots and growing shoots. 3 Add fresh aquatic compost to the basket and place the new plant in the centre, filling around it using the rest of the compost. 4 Start the lilies off in shallow water (stand the basket on a brick or stone) and move them deeper after a couple of weeks.…

• As temperatures rise your pond will be springing back to life after winter’s freezing dormancy. • Test the water to make sure it contains the correct balance of nutrients for animal and plant health. • Cut back dead and dying plant material so it doesn’t contaminate the water. • Scoop off surface weeds and excess oxygenators to let warmth and light back down into the depths. • Check the health of your fish, and once the water temperature reaches 10°C start feeding them again. • They may still be sluggish, so don’t over-feed them. Cover the pond with netting to protect them from hungry predators.…

A POND adds so much to the garden on every level. It need not be massive – if space is tight you can create a patio mini-pond in a half-barrel – but your patch of land will be so much richer with one in it. Like all water features, ponds are therapeutic and relaxing. They are also a fantastic way of increasing the diversity of your garden via aquatic and marginal plants and the rich array of wildlife the water and plantings attract. On these pages I show you how to install a pond, examine the pros and cons of keeping goldfish and look at the essential tasks that need to be done now, as temperatures start to rise. These will help maintain the health of your pond for plants and aquatic…

Ponds will always attract wildlife, starting with the snails and leeches that arrive via aquatic plants. Jewel-like dragon and damselflies will soon swoop in and, if you’re lucky you will get newts, frogs and toads as well. Garden mammals such as hedgehogs will wander by for a drink, so always make sure one side is gently sloping so they can clamber out easily if they fall in. If you want your pond to have a thriving wild ecosystem of invertebrates and amphibians, the common consensus is not to add goldfish to the mix. Goldfish are voracious omnivores, and will gobble up tadpoles, insects and their nymphs, although they will leave adult frogs, toads and newts alone. If you want both, one solution is to create a shallower area of water where amphibians can live and…

1 Define the perimeter and shape of the pond with string or a hosepipe and start to dig it out. Move the soil and turf out of the way. 2 Dig out your pond in graded shelves (this is important so wildlife can climb out) and make sure each shelf is level using a spirit level. 3 Line the pond with a thick layer of sand or old carpet. This stops sharp stones or roots from puncturing the lining. 4 Get someone to help you drape the lining over the hole. Spread it carefully without dragging it and anchor the sides with bricks. 5 While the pond is filling with water, trim the sides of the lining so there is a 12in (30cm) overlap. Anchor it with cemented edging stones or turf. 6 Plant up…

ALTHOUGH our garden has ridiculously chalky soil, one of its late winter/early spring glories is a vast mound of pink-purple heather. If this seems wrong on such alkaline soil, don’t worry – winter and spring-flowering varieties (Erica carnea, Erica x darleyensis and Erica erigena) grow well in most soil types. It is their more picky summer-flowering cousins, the Erica vulgaris strain, that require an acidic soil that is lighter in structure, which is why they are usually found on heathlands where the soil is thin and ericaceous. Early flowering heather is a wonderful addition to the garden on several levels. It is a stunning start to the gardening year, looking an absolute picture against fresh green grass and blue skies, and it is an important source of food for the first insects…