Sophie Wainwright
A rushy corner at the top of a field, where the ground stays soft underfoot long after the rest has dried, is one of the most promising places on a Cumbrian smallholding. It is too wet for a decent crop, awkward for the mower and often the first spot to be written off as waste. Yet with a spade, a liner and a few native plants, that same corner can become the busiest habitat on the farm. A shallow pond with sloped edges will draw in frogs, dragonflies and birds, and it costs far less than a new shed.
Choosing the Right Spot in the Field Corner
Look for a low point that holds moisture, ideally where a spring flush or field drain already seeps. The pond needs sun for at least half the day, so avoid the deep shade of a mature hedge or woodland edge. Keep it away from slurry stores, silage clamps, cattle yards and heavily fertilised ground; runoff rich in nutrients will turn the water green and choked with algae. In Cumbria, rain is plentiful, but a shallow pond can still drop in a dry May, so a naturally damp hollow is worth its weight in gold.
If livestock graze the field, fence off the pond with stock-proof netting or a permanent electric fence, leaving a two-metre grass margin. Cattle and sheep will poach the banks, foul the water and flatten your plants within a week. A small gate in the fence lets you get in for maintenance without letting the field stock follow. Position the pond where you can see it from the house or a regular track, because you will notice problems sooner and enjoy it more often.
Digging and Shaping a Pond That Works
A pond of roughly three metres by four metres is plenty for a smallholding. Dig the centre to about 90 centimetres deep, then create wide shelves at 20 to 30 centimetres for marginal plants. The most important feature is the edge: make it gently sloped, not vertical, with one shallow beach area where frogs, hedgehogs and thirsty birds can walk in and out. A vertical edge may look tidy but it traps wildlife and makes planting difficult.
Use a butyl or EPDM liner over a geotextile underlay, or puddle the pond with clay if your soil is heavy enough. Avoid using tap water if you can; fill from a rainwater butt or a hose from a roof tank. If tap water is the only option, let it stand for a few days before adding plants, and accept that it may encourage algae at first. Pile the spoil nearby as a bank, and tuck a few stones and logs into it for hibernating frogs and insects. Do not add fish. Goldfish and sticklebacks will eat tadpoles, dragonfly larvae and almost everything else that makes a pond interesting.
Planting Native Species for Cumbrian Conditions
Plant in late spring or early summer, once the water has settled. Use native species suited to the wet, cool north, and plant in baskets of loam if your liner is exposed. Avoid fertiliser, and never introduce invasive non-natives such as New Zealand pygmyweed, floating pennywort or Canadian waterweed. They will smother the pond and are illegal to cause to spread in the wild.
- Marginals: marsh marigold, water mint, water forget-me-not, ragged robin, purple loosestrife and soft rush. Yellow flag iris is handsome but vigorous, so keep it in a basket.
- Oxygenators: hornwort, water starwort and curled pondweed. These compete with algae and shelter invertebrates.
- Floating and edge plants: native frogbit and bogbean, with lady's smock and meadowsweet on the damp bank.
Leave some bare mud and open water. A pond that is completely covered in vegetation may look lush, but dragonflies need clear water for egg-laying and birds need a landing strip.
Wildlife You Can Expect — and How to Help It
Frogs and toads usually arrive first, followed by smooth newts, diving beetles, water boatmen and pond skaters. Dragonflies and damselflies will hunt over the water, and house martins, swallows and wagtails will drop in to drink and feed. Herons may visit for frogs, which is a sign of a healthy pond rather than a problem. Bats will hawk over the surface at dusk, taking midges and caddisflies.
Help them by leaving rough grass, log piles and stone heaps within a few metres of the pond. Do not move frogspawn or plants from other ponds, as this can spread disease and invasive species. Let the pond colonise naturally. It may take two or three years to feel truly alive, but the first dragonfly will be worth the wait.
Looking After the Pond Through the Year
Maintenance is light if the pond is fenced, planted and free of fish. The main jobs follow the seasons.
- Spring: check the liner for damage, thin out excess blanketweed by hand, and split overcrowded marginals.
- Summer: top up with rainwater during dry spells, and keep the grass around the edge mown once or twice, but leave some tussocks.
- Autumn: rake out some fallen leaves before they sink, but leave a few for invertebrates. Clear the overflow channel so heavy rain can escape.
- Winter: do not smash ice, as the shock can kill frogs and newts. Place a pan of hot water on the surface to melt a hole if needed.
Every few years, dredge part of the pond in late autumn, leaving the spoil on the bank for a few days so creatures can crawl back. Never use fertiliser, herbicide, pesticide or slurry near the pond, and keep ducks in a separate run if you have them; they will eat tadpoles and churn the water to soup.
Fitting the Pond into Smallholding Life
A field-corner pond earns its keep. Frogs and toads eat slugs, dragonflies and swallows take midges, and the pond becomes a quiet place to sit after a day of fencing or lambing. It will not replace a trough for livestock, and it should not be used as one, but it adds resilience to the farm. In a wet Cumbrian year, make sure there is a shallow overflow to a soakaway or hedge so the pond does not flood a neighbour's field. With sloped edges, native plants and no fish, that rushy corner will soon be the richest few square metres on the holding.
