From Cider to Water

In my opinion, all good gardeners have a duty to encourage wildlife into their urban jungles (a.k.a - their gardens). With the destructive manner that councils are merrily stripping away hedges, trees and scrub-land under the pretence that it inflicts with health and safety regulations, our wild animals are fast running out of places to live, eat and generally survive.

Now, I'm not saying you should put up a sign offering rent to the local foxes and badgers; (unless you want to of course, but they can be quite noisy when you're trying to sleep) but by adding simple features to your garden you can attract birds, bees, butterflies, frogs, and just about anything you want to actually!

A well as choosing a variety of plants that attract such flying insects as listed above - yes, I know frogs can't fly! - I have had in my garden for the past three years an old cider barrel. But no; I'm not trying to turn my garden into the local drinking establishment for all things 'wild'. The idea was that by filling the barrel with water and adding some aquatic plants I can enjoy the benefits of having tranquil water in the garden without having to dig up a huge amount of ground to make a pond. And quite frankly, I haven't the space for anything larger than the three-foot diameter barrel anyway.

So, having positioned my barrel and filled it with plants, I then did what everyone else does...I left it to stagnate! After the second year, the Zantedeschia I'd planted to the side had grown so huge that it was a struggle to even see the barrel. The plants in the barrel - a Cyperus, a Butomus, and some Iris - failed to grow at all due to receiving absolutely no light.

It did have the desired effect of introducing wildlife. Last summer, when pruning the Hedera on the wall next to the barrel, I was startled by a little frog that was hiding in the Ivy. It hopped back to the safety of the barrel and I never saw it again. I also have a regular Starling that comes to bathe in the barrel. He's quite tame now and splashes around merrily even if I'm sat in the garden.

With all this going on, I felt it was a shame that I couldn't see the water feature and that there were no plants growing in it (kind of an important factor when you consider that I'm a gardener!).

Last week I decided to move it out from the corner and found a more suitable place where hopefully it won't get overgrown again. Pulling out the pots that once had thriving plants in them I was pleased to discover that there are tiny signs of life in them so my next project is to try to save them. The water was disgusting, full of leaf mould, chickweed, and VERY stagnant. Scooping out with a jam jar, I poured the water over other parts of the garden to prevent a flood and rolled the barrel off its broken patio slabs that I'd used as a foundation.

Once, that difficult bit had been done, it was simply a matter of making the barrel sit level in its new position and then re-filling it. Job Done!

Now, I have a water feature that not only can I see but it also has clean, non-smelling water in it. This time, I intend on maintaining the water and changing it regularly to keep it clean. I've got no electric outside and so I can't add a pump to circulate the water which would be the ideal however, I'm going to keep an eye out for a solar power fountain and see if that helps.

In the meantime, I now need to get some new plants for it. I like the idea of a water lily although they can grow quite large. Smaller varieties are available and Nymphaea 'Aurora' would make a perfect choice for my little barrel. Its flowers are red/orange which will complement the orange Campsis growing on the fence behind it and continue the tropical theme for the lower part of my garden. It only spreads 1.5 - 2 ft and has speckled leaves that will add interest whilst it isn't flowering.

Mmm? Think I may have to take a trip to my local water garden centre now!