Backyard Pond A Enchanting Ecosystem

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When living in a neighborhood, you might only hear cars and a barking dog. Not sounds that promote relaxation, but add a small body of water, and then the soothing sounds of nature begin. We put in a backyard pond to add a welcoming habitat for birds, dragonflies, and other wildlife that need a drink of water or a refreshing bath. But one summer evening, we heard the sounds of the bayou in our midwestern backyard. The pond attracted different species of frogs.

 Frogs are a wonderful addition to your backyard. Frogs and toads love to eat insects, so they are natural pest control in your garden. One frog can eat over 10,000 insects during a season. All they need is moisture, shelter like rocks and plants, and food. Toads and frogs don’t breath or drink through their mouths; they absorb moisture into their bodies by sitting in water. Please keep chemicals and fertilizers away from your pond.The rocks that line our pond provide them plenty of shelter from the hot sun. 

Also, the native plants trim the edge of our pond so the frog's eggs and tadpoles can hide and eat. Frogs and tadpoles are sensitive to chlorine and chloramine. So make sure your pond is chlorine-free. When adding city water to the pond, let the water stand for a few days in buckets before adding it to the pond. 

Some of the nighttime sounds include green frogs, lots of gray tree frogs, the Southern Leopard Frog, the Plains Leopard Frog, Blanchard’s Cricket Frogs, and the occasional Spring Peepers. We also have turtles that enjoy sunbathing on the rocks. We added Aquatic plants. The plants clean the pond, and will provide food, shade, and shelter for our frogs and turtles. Seeing dragonflies around the pond is a good sign that your pond is healthy. 

Are you ready to put your own enchanting pond in?

Backyard ponds can have their own ecosystems, but to function properly and be healthy, they need these necessary parts:

• non-chlorinated water
• filter
• aquatic plants
• some algae 
• big rock and small rocks

#backyard ponds #frogs #nature