Put in a pond and diversify your garden | DIY garden projects | Gardening Australia

Of all the ways to add more plants – and wildlife and diversity – into your garden, water has the biggest impact. Subscribe: http://ab.co/GA-subscribe

You can use a bird bath or a small pot, but today Millie is transforming an old bathtub into a water feature – with added fish to create a mini ecosystem.

What you need:
Bath or other tub/container
Silicone to seal plug
Saucer to cover plug (optional)
Gravel
Plants
Aquatic soil mix or garden soil (see notes)
Washed sand
Bricks to support pots
Fish! (optional)
Water conditioner (optional)
Wire mesh safety cover
A shade area (optional)
A log or other way for animals to safely climb out

What you do:
Pick a spot with plenty of sun – most water plants need at least half a day’s sun.
To make sure the plug doesn’t leak, Millie has sealed it in with silicone but has also put a screw cap into the waste so she can undo it and let the water out to move it or clean it. She puts a small saucer over the plug to protect it.

She puts about 4 litres of gravel into the bottom of the bath to act as a base for pots and create a mini ecosystem.

Now fill the bath.

Plants:
Millie uses indigenous plants in her pond – it’s important to think about what you grow in a water feature as birds can easily transport seeds or bits of plants to other waterways, where they can cause a major problem.

Some plants grow on the edges of waters; these are marginal plants, such as reeds and sedges.
Others need to be fully submerged – these are aquatic.
Millie will grow her plants in pots rather than filling the base of the bath with soil.

For both marginal and aquatic plants, you need a growing medium that is heavier than regular potting mix, as this will simply float and it contains a lot of nutrients, which can cause unwanted algae to grow. Millie pots her seedlings up in a special aquatic mix but you can also use a heavy clay-loam mix from your garden if you’re confident it is fairly weed-free.

To hold the growing mix in place, cover it with a layer of washed sand then a layer of gravel.

Gently lower the pots into the water to allow any air to escape.

The pots of aquatic plants can sit on the bottom of the bath, while the marginal plants should be raised up on bricks or upturned pots so that only the roots are under water and the foliage sits above.

Fish: to keep mosquitoes at bay, Millie has sourced some native fish, Southern pygmy perch (Nannoperca australis), which will eat mosquite larvae while leaving any frog tadpoles alone; they are also suited to the local climate.
Before adding them, she treats the town water with a water conditioner (available from aquarium shops) to remove any chlorine. If using rainwater, this is not necessary.

As a safety measure, Millie has cut a piece of stiff wire mesh to size and uses this to cover the bath. Pond regulations vary around Australia, so check what guidelines apply in your area.

Millie has added a small deck to one end to provide some shade and a vantage point for visitors.

She also adds a frog log to provide a safe exit point from the pond for any frogs or other creatures.

Featured plants:
Water ribbons (Cycnogeton procerum)
Water Milfoil (Myriophyllum sp.)
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Poison pratia (Lobelia concolor)
Common Nardoo (Marsilea drummondii)

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