Preamble

What should you do with an unused drinks bucket? Hmm pond… hmmmmm pond… HMM PONDDDD. I decided to try and create a mini aquatic ecosystem to bring a bit of calming energy to my 3rd floor London balcony. I will use this website as an accessible record to chart plant and wildlife progress.

I bought a couple of bunches of hornwort, two irises, a leucojum, a forget-me-not and a pygmy alba lily. Topped up the bucket with tap water and added some dechlorination solution. I set the plants in mesh baskets with pond soil (silty and lower in nutrients, to avoid feeding algae) and added a little solar-powered pump to circulate oxygen and disturb the surface so that mosquitoes can’t lay their eggs on still water.

Bonus pic of cat intrigue.