We dug a wildlife pond last autumn, and we have been delighted with the
result, with a garden heaving with frogs and newts, and even some toads.
The growth rate of the frogs since they left the pond in June has been


What about duckweed.

Art

In article , Alison alison.freeth@NoS
pAm.wideopenwindows.fsbusiness.co.uk writes

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , A.Malhotra
writes

Round one of my ponds I have germander speedwell, but I'm not sure quite
how boggy it like it.

I'm not sure if this is the same thing that I've got - a veronica beccabunga
(love the name :-) ) It's got quite pretty little blue flowers, spreads
like fury but is easily pulled out, will grow in the water or on the banks,
and the roots provide great cover for all sorts of things in the water.

No, it's related but different. Veronica beccabunga, brooklime, has
shinier leaves than Germander speedwell, V chamaedrys, and is a water
plant for preferences whereas germander speedwell is a land plant of
hedgebanks and open woodland and a garden weed. Though I think the
garden veronica 'Georgia blue' is bred from it - the flowers are very
similar. And germander speedwell is always described as having a white
'eye' though when you look at it the overwhelming impression is of the
bright blue flowers - it's much more blue and a stronger colour than the
other speedwells that are encountered as weeds.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , A.Malhotra
writes

Round one of my ponds I have germander speedwell, but I'm not sure quite
how boggy it like it.

I'm not sure if this is the same thing that I've got - a veronica beccabunga
(love the name :-) ) It's got quite pretty little blue flowers, spreads
like fury but is easily pulled out, will grow in the water or on the banks,
and the roots provide great cover for all sorts of things in the water.

--A

Kay Easton wrote:

In article , A.Malhotra
writes
The pond
is in a natural boggy area so that the edge in question can get very wet.
It is in a sunny location too so that the sort of thngs I had in mind
(bugle, vinca) might not do very well. Does anyone know of a wild or
wild-type ground cover plant that would do well in these circumstances and
be vigorous enough to compete with grass? We've tried creeping jenny but it
hasn't survived.

It depends how big your pond is and how tall a plant you want.

Its 5m x 3 m (at the widest point). To reiterate, I'm NOT looking for
marginal plants that grow in the water (got lots of those) but a plant for
the terrestrial margin which sometimes floods, sometimes dries out and into
which stepping stones ar inset ie for safety I would not want anything that
grew very tall.


Round one of my ponds I have germander speedwell, but I'm not sure quite
how boggy it like it.

I think anything tiny is probably going to get pushed out by the grass.
Water mint is pretty tough, perhaps with the occasional clump of marsh
marigold.

Our ponds at the nature park are fringed with a mixture of purple
loosestrife, yellow loosestrife and watermint, but that's a vigorous
mixture and might be more problem than the grass!

Or you could compromise by encouraging wet-loving grasses and rushes
around the edge - there not quite as spready as meadow grasses.
--
Kay Easton