When we moved in to our house last year I was heavily pregnant and suffering from fainting spells, so we pretty much ignored the garden. As the days are starting to clear and even our north facing garden is starting to feel slightly less damp and dingy, I decided to get to work. The one thing we had managed to do last year was to drain the large, overgrown pond. It's a raised square one and I rather liked the idea of converting it into a vegetable plot. This weekend we started draining the last dregs of water and gunk, lowering some of the edges and generally clearing out a bit. Unfortunately, we discovered some ex-residents who were not impressed at the removal of their habitat. We counted eight frogs in all, who at this time of year may well have been hoping to spawn. I feel awful about evicting them, but I really don't want a large pond once Alice starts tottering about. I have tried to salve my conscience with a little compromise.
With Alice strapped to my back, I set my master plan in motion. I found a large plastic tub, half filled it with gravel, rocks and a water-plant and sunk it into a shady area near to where the pond used to be. I surrounded it with a few more large stones and bits of wood for shelter, and hey presto! An instant mini pond.
I still feel guilty about the loss of what to me was an overgrown, smelly eyesore, but to those frogs was obviously a desirable place to bring up tadpoles. Hopefully my mini pond might be a welcome rest spot for them before they seek out new places to live.
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