Project | Build a Garden Swimming Pond

If you want to attract wildlife to your garden and have somewhere to take a cold water dip, then nothing beats installing a swim pond. It is, however, worth thinking about the following:

• A swimming depth of at least two metres will stop your pond overheating during the summer.

• Hand-digging your pond is a lot of work! Use an excavator if you can fit one in your garden – you can hire ones that are less than 700mm wide.

• Nutrients produce algae, yet nutrient levels can take few years to settle in your pond. Avoid fish, which eat algae-eating organisms and produce a lot of poo, too. Also, remove dead leaves from the surface regularly, and plant directly into the pebbles (don’t use soil).

• Barley straw in net bags is an effective way of reducing algae, but this can make a mess when the bags decompose. You could use plastic net bags, but would you want microplastics in your pond?

A garden swim pond is quite an undertaking but the above advice will help you get started. The picture above is of Fiona McWilliam’s swim pond in her garden in Sussex. You can read the whole story of its design and conception in our September issue.

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More from the September issue…

My Plot | Natural born swimmers

Sarah and Will Murch dreamt of wild swimming in their garden. So they turned a disused patch into a tranquil pool, now a haven for wildlife a well as their family.

'Every time I visit the pool, I am blown away by its magic; it always surprises me. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dull day, windy or sunny – it is always beautiful and every time I swim, I am gobsmacked that we built this. The wildlife that is drawn to the garden is a big thing for me. Sitting by the water and seeing the swallows dip and the dragonflies hover is pretty amazing. It is also the place we all come together as a family – we are all drawn to the water. It is where we gravitate, it calms and revitalises, and not just when swimming in it but also by being beside it. It is a very special place.'

Turn to page 110 of September's The Simple Things for more on how Sarah and will created their pool.
 

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Six medicinal herbs worth growing

The brains behind medicinal plant nursery Barefoot Botanicals are the growers behind August's My Plot. Marina and Ross explain how they turned a rough patch of land into a field of flowers - the ingredients for their nursery and herbal clinic - on page 114 of August's The Simple Things. 
 
Here, they share six medicinal herbs worth growing:

Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) 

Traditionally used: for menstrual disorders and diarrhoea.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) 

Traditionally used: to relieve stress and anxiety, insomnia, digestive complaints and flu.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria)

Traditionally used: to relieve stress and anxiety, colic, IBS and insomnia.

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

Traditionally used: as a sedative; to ease whooping cough and to relieve eczema.

Cowslip (Primula veris)

Traditionally used: to relieve coughs, rheumatism, asthma; or as a sedative.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) 

Traditionally used: to relieve sore throats and respiratorytract infections.

All plants available from barerootbotanicals.ie

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My Plot | The 7 layers of a forest garden

Edible forest gardens imitate the tiered structure of natural woodlands, but have a higher proportion of edible species.

When creating a forest garden, it is important to ensure enough light reaches the lower layers for healthy plants and maximum yields. The seven primary layers are:
1 Upper canopy The tallest tier is typically made up of standard fruit trees, nut trees and trees that fix nitrogen. Only suitable for large gardens.
2 Sub canopy, or canopy trees for smaller gardens: mid-sized trees, including most familiar fruit trees.
3 Shrubs Bushes that produce berries and plants that attract pollinators and offer habitats for wildlife.
4 Herbaceous plants A perennial layer including some herbs and medicinal plants.
5 Ground cover Low-growing edible and often nitrogen-fixing plants which enrich the soil and help control weeds.
6 Underground plants Edible roots and tubers and micro-organisms including fruiting fungi (mushrooms).
7 Climbers or vines Plants that trail along the ground, over branches and up into trees and shrubs.

Taken from The Garden Awakening by Mary Reynolds (Green Books).

Turn to page 114 of July's The Simple Things for more from this month's My Plot - how Claire Leadbitter turned a bare paddock into a forest garden.

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My Plot | Daily life at Freedom Cove

As innovative gardens go, this water-borne home and veg patch takes some beating. In western Canada, Freedom Cove is a world filled with greenhouses, produce and art

Catherine King and Wayne Adams met in 1987 and immediately felt a connection through a shared love of nature and art. When they came across a pile of storm-strewn lumber in Cypress Bay, on Vancouver Island, they saw an opportunity to turn it into a home. Today, Freedom Cove has a lighthouse, four greenhouses, a dance platform, smokehouse and a candle-making workshop.

Daily life at Freedom Cove

We both get up around 7–8 am. In spring and summer, the first thing I do is check my plants to make sure they have enough water, open my greenhouses, and water any plants in propagators in the house while Wayne gets the fire going.

We eat breakfast together, then I do household chores and Wayne tends to the generator or solar system. Once I have done my bodywork – pilates, tai chi, or yoga – I head out to the garden to pot up plants, sow seeds, weed, prune, and do general maintenance.

We have lunch together and then focus on our art. We both carve, and I write, paint, dance, play musical instruments and sing. I am also a healer, so people come out to Freedom Cove to see me or we speak over Skype.

Wayne is constantly repairing water lines, painting, rebuilding damaged areas, repairing greenhouses, doing boat- and chainsaw-maintenance and getting firewood. He is also a fisherman, so spends a lot of time out on his boat. I am a vegetarian.

From June until September, tours come out to visit and we both show people around. We also make moulds of our carvings and turn them into beeswax candles, which we give to anyone who visits. In the evenings, after dinner, we’ll either work on a creative project, Skype with family and friends, or watch a movie.

Turn to page 110 for more from Freedom Cove.

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My Plot | Greenhouse advice

Every gardener craves a big, beautiful greenhouse. Julie King, who owns an enviable one in Suffolk, tells us how it gives her year-round blooms and much pleasure

• Decide how you are going to use your greenhouse before you plan it. I like to grow flowers in a greenhouse bed, so only have staging (a shelf on legs) down one side. You might want more floor area for seating or more staging for seed sowing.
• Choose your site carefully. My greenhouse faces south but is shaded by a tree on summer afternoons so it doesn’t overheat.
• Try to include water and electricity in your plan. Being able to have lighting and a heatmator propagator will extend the winter use of your greenhouse greatly.
• If your budget extends to blinds, fit them on the outside of the glass. Your greenhouse will be much cooler if you can stop the glass from heating up too much.
• Most flowers find the heat of the greenhouse too much in summer, but tender vegetables, such as chillies, peppers, tomatoes and aubergines, thrive in the hot, humid environment. l Herbs that are grown in pots outside can be brought inside and will continue to grow all winter if you place them on a heat mat. Rhubarb and strawberries can also be brought inside in January for an early crop.
• Include as many cold frames as possible in your greenhouse plan. Young seedlings that are kept in a greenhouse too long will be very tender and may not thrive when planted outside. Cold frames are basically mini unheated greenhouses sitting directly over the soil and are an ideal place to harden off your young plants.

Turn to page 106 for more greenhouse advice from this month's My Plot. 

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