It's much bigger than my previous pond in Hampshire. It's over 10 feet (3m) long and about 5 feet (1.5m) wide. It's set into the edge of the patio area, in front of the rockery. The original liner is still there but it's full of holes.
I'm rebooting the pond on a budget, with a large piece of pond liner I acquired from a family member. It's not big enough to line the existing pond so I'm going to refill some of the current hole with soil and create a smaller pond.
Finding local pond life
I've never spent much money on my ponds. My Hampshire pond comprised a rigid liner that a friend no longer needed, as they no longer wanted a water hazard in a garden that would be frequented by grandchildren.
A family member supplied me with with some oxygenating plants (hornwort and elodea crispa). Another friend split their water lily and gave me half. I also imported some frog spawn in the spring and a host of aquatic insects found the pond for themselves.
I did buy some fish for the pond and they seemed quite happy, living for several years and even breeding. Curiously, the only time I was aware they bred was the summer that long-term visitors stayed in my home and overfed the fish.
The Hampshire pond never became stagnant, despite not using a pump or filter on it. I regularly topped the water level up from a water butt and it remained relatively clear.
The only plant that I added to the pond and then regretted was duckweed. These tiny floating plants can look quite attractive, as a bright green mat on the surface. But it rapidly spreads and I regularly removed huge clumps of it.
Based on my experience from Hampshire, I'm reasonably confident that I can reboot my Dorset pond with some success.
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