When you are choosing the garden pond design of your dreams the first thing you have to ask yourself is, what do you want from it? If your purpose is to have a small quiet corner to relax by, or a small ornamental pond then you can keep the garden pond design small. If on the other hand your purpose is to attract wildlife, whether that is birds, frogs, or any other little critters then you need your garden pond design to be bigger. Remember that the bigger your pong the more animals you will be able to attract, so keep this in mind when you head out for your garden pond supply store.

Critter Friendly

It might surprise you the number of species that your little garden pond design can attract. You may have already decided that you would like to have some fish in your ornamental pond but there are also other animals that can benefit from your pond. Birds are beautiful to watch and not only will they want to drink from your garden pond, but they will also enjoy bathing in the garden pond design that you choose.

Frogs are another species that will enjoy your garden pond design, especially during a dry spell. Another unexpected visitor to your garden pond might be dragonflies. With a large enough pond you might find dragonflies breeding in your garden pond, a beautiful addition to any garden. This is a wonderful teaching tool for young children, especially children who have never ventured far from your garden or backyard.

Shape

The shape that you choose for your garden pond design is very important. You want it to look appealing, and you also want to maximize the eco friendliness of your garden pond. The best design for attracting wildlife is to have a garden pond design with sides that slope gently. This will allow birds to bathe in the shallows of your pond, which are the gently sloping sides of the pond.

The sloping sides are also important if you have small children as it avoids the danger of little ones getting into trouble in the water. It will also allow small wildlife, such as hedgehogs, to escape should they get in by accident. If you live in a climate that sees cold winters then you should have a garden pond design that has a water depth of more than 24 inches. This will avoid the problem of your garden pond freezing over in the winter.