# Frog friendly garden



## Conort2 (22 May 2022)

Hi,

Hope you’re all good?

I recently set up a patio pond and my neighbour donated a fair amount of tadpoles from his pond. They’re now developing into froglets. Is there anything I should do to make a garden more frog friendly? I have quite heavily planted borders but my garden is south facing so is always in the sun and can be very warm at times. For now they will be safe within the confines of the pond however this is raised around 18 inches so it may be some time before they’re large enough to be able to access it again once they decide to leave.

Cheers

Conor


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## PARAGUAY (22 May 2022)

Could you make a bog garden next to stones stepped up to the pond. Shade the bog garden (and pond a little) with easy maintenance sun loving shrubs. A small wildflower section in the borders would make a nice retreat for them until returning to the pond.


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## tigertim (22 May 2022)

A place for them to hide/shelter,  a pile of old brances or broken up rubble, crockery etc.


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## martin-green (22 May 2022)

If it is 18 inches up, could you not consider burying it in the garden to make it lower?  Once your froglets have 4 legs they will be off never to return, its a sad fact, that is why there are so many as most will not survive. Adult frogs are often looking for a place to live, but believe it or not they don't live in water most of the time, as tigertim suggested somewhere for them to hide such as branches, upturned bricks is where they live/hibernate, yes they do go in water but they don't live there 24/7 and if they can not see the water (18 inches up) they will carry on with their travels and go somewhere easier. (Wouldn't you?) 
If you can't lower the pond, how about raising the (or one) surrounding side? (Not just a ramp it must be somewhere to live, hide etc)


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## NatalieHurrell (22 May 2022)

That said, in a pinch ramps can work.  In our case we just have a flat stone sloped up from the pond to the rim, as whoever put the pond in didn't know what a spirit level was.  As others have said, plants that create shade will be gratefully received.  They seem to love hostas, which might just be OK in the shadiest part of your garden (just be prepared for the snails...)


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## Conort2 (22 May 2022)

Thanks for the responses.

I’ve got wildflowers and hostas plus geraniums and a few other bits which I have no idea what they’re called which seem to provide a lot of cover. I’ll add some logs and other bits deep into the beds to provide more cover. Also have a lot of pots with small gaps under them which I’m sure they’ll use.

As for the pond it’s raised and on decking. It was never my intention to put tadpoles in it but the neighbour launched a load in as to save them getting eaten by his fish. Maybe I’ll try and squeeze in a small sunken pond just so they have somewhere to retreat to if they need it. To be fair I think most of them will end up hidden under the decking gorging on all the bugs down there.

Cheers


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## dw1305 (22 May 2022)

Hi all,


Conort2 said:


> I’ve got wildflowers and hostas plus geraniums and a few other bits which I have no idea what they’re called which seem to provide a lot of cover. I’ll add some logs and other bits deep into the beds to provide more cover. Also have a lot of pots with small gaps under them which I’m sure they’ll use........To be fair I think most of them will end up hidden under the decking gorging on all the bugs down there.


Sounds perfect.

cheers Darrel


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## Conort2 (22 May 2022)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Sounds perfect.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Trying my best to make it more wildlife friendly, getting as many bee friendly plants in the borders now and it’s starting to come along well this year. Even had a hedgehog in autumn which I was shocked to see so must be doing something right.

Bit off topic but any recommendations for long flowering perennials which will attract bees? Already got salvias, lavender, cosmos, bellflower, geums and some other bits I can’t remember the name of. Also got mentha and a few other bits in the patio pond for pollinators.

Cheers


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## KirstyF (22 May 2022)

Might be stating the obvious but make sure you have something they can climb up to get out of the raised pond when/if the water level drops below the rim (a ladder as such) They naturally spend a good amount of time on land, in fact many species will spend most of their time on land when not breeding so whilst they may pop in and out, you are most likely to see them in water during springtime breeding periods. 

Also something just below water line that they can perch on is a plus (rocks, plants etc) I’ve just done a little re-vamp of my mini wildlife pond. I’ve got a large pond too, but this one is more of a glorified puddle in my woodland area, maybe 8 - 10 inches deep at its deepest point and half of that depth is full of leaves and general detritus. I spent the afternoon, however, being watched by two little frogs, sat amongst plants with just their heads poked up through the duckweed! 😂

I’ve sunk a very large deep bucket at one end (so they now have a plunge pool) and the extra depth will add some variety of conditions for other wildlife critters! 

Also, tall reeds or stems are great for dragonfly or damselfly larvae to climb out onto in order to do their final moult before flying off to mate. Seeing the perfectly formed moults that they leave behind is pretty cool too. 

If you have space and it works for you, a good patch of nettles somewhere is a good plus for wildlife (not always popular) and as a general rule for flowers, open flowers with good access to pollen rather than fancy doubles with lots of petals in the way, a variety of different flower shapes such as some open face, some bells (like foxgloves) and some plants with lots of small flowers is good, as this will cater to a larger variety of pollinators with different preferences. Also try to extend your season for as long as you can. Early and late flowers can be crucial for those times when there is not so much available. Heathers can be great for this as many will flower through the colder seasons. 

I personally get as much joy from seeing all the critters in my garden as I do seeing the flowers. I hope you do too. 😊


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## mort (23 May 2022)

Conort2 said:


> Bit off topic but any recommendations for long flowering perennials which will attract bees? Already got salvias, lavender, cosmos, bellflower, geums and some other bits I can’t remember the name of. Also got mentha and a few other bits in the patio pond for pollinators.
> 
> Cheers



If you want long flowering and impact then one of the sterile hardy geraniums will work. The most common is "Rozanne" which is a great plant if you have some sprawling space but "Anne Thompson" is better behaved and "Ann Folkard" somewhere in between. 
Erysimum bowles mauve is a perennial wallflower that keeps going most of the year but the best flowering plants in my garden the last few years have been Knautia macedonica and on one plant it was in flower everyday through last year's winter.

The best bee and insect plants I have in the garden don't flower for that long but when they do they are abuzz with life so do consider other things as well if you have space. For me eryngiums and echinops are two of the ones I wouldn't be without and monarda is similarly inticing to bugs.


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## dw1305 (23 May 2022)

Hi all,


Conort2 said:


> Bit off topic but any recommendations for long flowering perennials which will attract bees?





mort said:


> If you want long flowering and impact then one of the sterile hardy geraniums will work. The most common is "Rozanne" which is a great plant if you have some sprawling space but "Anne Thompson" is better behaved and "Ann Folkard" somewhere in between.
> Erysimum bowles mauve is a perennial wallflower that keeps going most of the year but the best flowering plants in my garden the last few years have been Knautia macedonica and on one plant it was in flower everyday through last year's winter....For me eryngiums and echinops are two of the ones I wouldn't be without


All of those, I have a lot of different Geraniums. I also really like Marjoram (_Origanum_ sp.) and <"_Origanum laevigatum_"> is a great long flowering one.

 From the useful <"Improving lawns...."> thread.





This is cheating a bit (because it is at work), but it is a Rambler Rose (<"Madame Gregoire Staechelin">) and I grew it from a hard wood cutting and "Guerilla" planted it.




cheers Darrel


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## Conort2 (23 May 2022)

Thanks for all the suggestions, think I will have a butchers this weekend and see if I can get some of the suggestions. 



mort said:


> eryngiums


I have one of these, had no idea what it was called. 

Also have scabiosa which have always been good for bees previously. Will also stick in a load of lobelia when they become available as the hoverflys love them. 

To be fair I have no idea when it comes to gardening and just wing it haha. 

Cheers


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## Conort2 (21 Jul 2022)

The planting suggestions ended up doing the trick, got plenty of small frogs growing well in the flower beds now. Also had this pair of hedgehogs move in which I’m over the moon with. Been here for a few nights now so hopefully they become a permanent edition. They certainly like the flower beds. I’m hoping they don’t snatch too many frogs!


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## hypnogogia (22 Jul 2022)

Without digressing form the OP, we have a summer frog tub with tadpoles.  Recently we have noticed some rats in the garden and the extermination guy told us it was because of the emerging froglets and the water.  Does anybody with a pond have this experience too?


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## mort (22 Jul 2022)

Unless that's a very big plate, I think those are an earlier hedgehog litter which is a good sign for the future. We get big mama hogs producing a couple of litters a year and sometimes so late the that babies aren't big enough to overwinter. One year we had 27 I think that we helped to get through till spring (our friend took them in from around the neighbourhood but then became ill so we took over with lots of guidance).
It's amazing how uplifting these little encounters can be.


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## mort (22 Jul 2022)

hypnogogia said:


> Without digressing form the OP, we have a summer frog tub with tadpoles.  Recently we have noticed some rats in the garden and the extermination guy told us it was because of the emerging froglets and the water.  Does anybody with a pond have this experience too?



I know that rats do eat frogs but I wouldn't have thought emerging froglet's was enough for them to be attracted there. I'm guessing they have a food source close by and are just picking off a snack when they can.


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## Conort2 (22 Jul 2022)

mort said:


> Unless that's a very big plate, I think those are an earlier hedgehog litter which is a good sign for the future. We get big mama hogs producing a couple of litters a year and sometimes so late the that babies aren't big enough to overwinter. One year we had 27 I think that we helped to get through till spring (our friend took them in from around the neighbourhood but then became ill so we took over with lots of guidance).
> It's amazing how uplifting these little encounters can be.


It’s actually a small plate, probably half the size of a dinner plate. I was thinking they were little ones but I’ve seen so few live hedgehogs in my life I can’t really remember the size of an adult. We had a youngster visit one night last year too so they’re breeding nearby somewhere which is good. It’s a pretty built up area so to see them is great, they’re cute little things with no fear. 

Cheers


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## mort (22 Jul 2022)

We have quite a large population, which is urban as well, because so many people feed them in the area and it's relatively quiet. I think lockdown has helped and they are quite a common garden sighting which I think can be attributed to our local hedgehog saviour. 
Adult hedgehogs can be a decent small rabbit size and I think if I remember right, upto a kilo or so. The ones our friend was looking after were tiny, late born individuals that were under 450g, most barely over 200.  They need to be about half a kilo in october to hibernate. The biggest issue we have here is they are covered by ticks but if you see one like that you can take them to your local vet for free and they will pass them onto a hedgehog expert if need be.


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