Protecting your fish from mink - this is Nick Easterbrook fitting mesh to a pond, to try to prevent mink accessing it and killing all the fish. Unfortunately, three lots of fish have already gone the same way, so the new mesh should stop this...
This is a very interesting "algae" that started cropping up in ponds in Scotland about ten years ago. It's Latin name is 'nostoc commune', but it has some wonderful old common names. For example: star jelly, rot of the stars, star slime and witches butter. It...
Some interesting edging details from a garden we are working on in the east end of Edinburgh. The Moroccan tiles need sealing to cope with Scottish frosts, but make a lovely border for this pool that will have a statue as a centrepiece. The clay “rope...
The frog, the toad, and the goldfish. There are probably more small ponds in Britain now than at any time in history. Modern liners mean that small garden ponds are easy to make. This is a godsend for goldfish and frogs. They love small ponds, and...
Signs your pond needs cleaning are green water, lots of duckweed and a big build-up of leaves on the bottom. March is not a bad time to do a pond clean. This is especially true if you can get it done before the frogs spawn. If...
These photos illustrate some of the things not to do with formal pools. If you are going to use a hard, consistent material like brick then see if you can soften it with some planting or at least some other material that breaks up the lines...
Pond edges are interesting places. When you are standing at a pond edge, there should be lots to see and lots to be interested in. So, when starting to plan your new pond, you could do a lot worse than begin with the edges. If you are...
If you are thinking about installing a water feature in your garden or outdoor space, we would be happy to help. One of the many nice things we get to do at Water Gems is experiment with designing water features based on some of the strange...
Pond tips for September. Lots of ponds have duckweed at this time of year - little floating green plants that sometimes cover ponds. Duckweed is shade tolerant and typical of pools that have lots of leaf matter in them from overhanging trees. The decomposing leaves take...
Welcome to our Pond Tips post for August. First of all, don’t use a cheap pond liner, because they often leak. A good quality liner such as Firestone EPDM from Gordon Low, combined with a geotextile underlay, is a far better choice. Second, don’t use grids across...