Start Small, Gain Plenty

You do not need a sweeping country pond to make a real difference. A sunken wash tub, a half barrel or a large rigid liner buried in a corner of the garden can draw in frogs, damselflies, bathing sparrows and an evening chorus of insects within a single season. Wildlife does not measure a pond in square metres; it measures it in clean water, a gentle way in and out, and plants it recognises. An hour of digging and a well-chosen tub is often all it takes.

Choose the Right Spot

Aim for somewhere that catches sun for part of the day and shade for the rest. A few hours of morning sun warms the water and encourages insects to lay eggs, while afternoon shade keeps summer temperatures steady and limits the green algae that flourishes in baking, nutrient-rich water.

Keep the pond away from the drip line of deciduous trees — a few fallen leaves are a gift, a full autumn dump of sycamore is a problem. Avoid the lowest point of the garden, where runoff carries in soil, fertiliser and lawn weedkiller. And if you have small children, plan the pond where you can see it from the kitchen window rather than tucking it behind the shed.

Pick a Tub and Dig It In

Size matters less than depth. Aim for a container 60–100cm across and at least 45cm deep — deeper still if you can manage it, because frogs overwinter in the silt at the bottom, and a pond that freezes solid is a pond that kills.

Old butler sinks, glazed planters, rigid preformed liners and half barrels lined with pond liner all work well. A butyl liner over a shaped hole gives the most natural look, but a buried tub is quicker, cheaper and far easier to empty and clean.

• Mark the outline with sand or a hose, then dig the hole a few centimetres wider and deeper than the tub.
• Bed it on 5cm of sharp sand, checking with a spirit level as you go.
• Set the rim 2–5cm above the surrounding soil so garden runoff cannot wash in.
• Backfill around the sides, firming gently, then top up with rainwater.

If you can, slope one section of the edge gently into the water — a shallow beach of stones and gravel. Frogs, hedgehogs, fledgling birds and thirsty bees all need a way out, and a slippery vertical wall is a death trap. Improvise with a stack of bricks, a piece of roughened wood or a sloping stone ramp. It costs nothing and saves lives.

Plant It Like a British Wetland

Plants do three jobs: they shade the water, shelter tadpoles and insects, and look lovely while doing it. Use native species where you can, and keep them in pots so you can lift and divide them later.

• Marginals for the shallow edges: marsh marigold, water forget-me-not, brooklime, water mint and lesser spearwort. Stand the pots on bricks so the crown sits 0–15cm below the surface.
• Oxygenators: hornwort or water starwort, submerged in the deepest part. These compete with algae and shelter newt larvae.
• Floating: a single water lily in a small tub is plenty — choose a dwarf variety and keep it potted.

Steer clear of the invasive thugs still sold in some garden centres, such as floating pennywort, parrot's feather and New Zealand pygmyweed: they will swamp a small pond and are banned from sale in the UK. Never take plants or frogspawn from another pond either, as disease and invasive species travel with them.

Let It Settle

Fill the pond with rainwater from a butt. Tap water is acceptable as a last resort but brings nutrients and chlorine with it. Then leave it alone. A new pond looks cloudy and lifeless for a fortnight or so, then clears as microscopic life finds its balance.

Do not add fish. Goldfish eat tadpoles, larvae and almost everything else you are trying to encourage, and they need filters and feeding. A wildlife pond needs no pump, no fountain and no chemicals — the murkier and more untidy it looks, the better it usually is for wildlife.

Expect the first arrivals within weeks: pond skaters and water boatmen rowing across the surface, then damselflies, then a frog. Give it a year before you judge it, and two before you decide it has failed.

Look After It Through the Year

• Spring: twirl blanketweed out with a stick, leave it on the edge for a day so any creatures can crawl back in, then compost it. Never drain or scrub the pond between March and September.
• Summer: top up with rainwater in dry spells. Leave the grass long along one side and stack a few logs nearby for frogs and beetles.
• Autumn: net out excess leaves, but leave a few in the water for larvae. Cut plants back only once they have died down.
• Winter: never smash ice with a hammer — the shockwaves harm overwintering wildlife. Float a ball or rest a pan of hot water on the surface to keep a breathing hole open.

Above all, resist the urge to tidy. A pond with a scruffy edge, a stone ramp and a few fallen leaves is not neglect — it is the whole point.