Forgotten moorland becomes blooming paradise
19/8/2026
Translation: Elicia Payne
Pictures: Debora Pape
For years the old pond in my garden has been overgrown with moss and roots. All I wanted to do was tidy it up a bit. Yet it’s turned into one of my favourite garden projects.
As the saying goes, hindsight is always 20/20. If I’d taken more photos of my overgrown garden in recent years, it’d be easier to show you the surprising transformation of a bit of marshy water into a pond paradise. But for a long time, I didn’t realise there was something glorious waiting to be discovered here. What began as a half-hearted chore turned into a labour of love.
A few weeks, about 400 euros and an algae crisis later, I have a blooming oasis that attracts dragonflies, butterflies, and even amphibians next to my patio. I never would’ve thought that the sound of splashing water, along with a few rocks and plants, could bring so much joy. At night, the lights from the solar lanterns around the pond twinkle, giving the scene a mystical atmosphere.
So let me explain how it all began.
The pond that became a real pond
It’s February 2023. My husband and I are standing in front of a charming little house in the woods – to pick up the keys to our future home. The previous owners, a retired couple, show us around the frozen garden. «Careful! There’s a pond,» the elderly lady calls out to me just before I step into an overgrown hole in the ground. Pond? I expected to see more water. But upon closer inspection, I see a patch of ice glistening through the plants.
In the time that followed, we spent a lot of time working on the house and largely left nature take its course in the garden. Garden maintenance – or even landscaping – was put on the backburner. And the pond? I forgot about that pretty quickly.
We told ourselves we wouldn’t start tackling the overgrown front yard with a hoe and shears until 2024. Underneath the green biomass of moss and weeds, a pond basin emerged, nestled within a low, completely overgrown mound of stones. «I really should do something about that,» I thought to myself as I half-heartedly pulled large clumps of moss out of the ditch.
It was hard to get an idea of the total size of the pond, and there wasn’t any standing water (anymore) either. But as I continued to make my way through the vegetation, I was surprised to find a second, smaller pool a little higher up.
I was reluctant to pull up the plants in the middle of summer and possibly depriving any living creatures of their home. So the «pond renovation» project was put on hold again. For some time.
«That’s not a pond – it’s a bog»
It’s March 2026. The perfect opportunity had arrived. My husband was reducing overtime, the weather was nice, and an idea came to mind: he could clean out the ponds. Then we’d be able to see what we can do with it. Naive yet determined, he set to work with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. From my study, I could hear loud cursing coming from the direction of the garden. Then I started receiving pictures on WhatsApp.
The whole area was a tangled mass of roots and mud, more like marshland than vegetation. It wasn’t long before I heard «I’ve had enough, you’re helping me at the weekend.» Fair. A few days later, the two of us tackled the stubborn thing. In fact, the root balls, which were saturated with water, could only be lifted out of the pots using leverage and a lot of elbow grease.
We discovered that both ponds were connected by a pipe. This makes it possible to pump water from the lower pond to the upper pond and create a circulation system. I imagined a solar-powered pump could work well. That’s when things started to get really interesting.
By this point, my husband had developed an emotional attachment to the «Pond Upgrade» project. He began to research plants for the future ecosystem. Time and again, I heard about different pond zones, oxygen levels and the ecological benefits for bees. He’d recommend native plants such as marsh sedge, water lily, water hyssop, purple loosestrife and water leek. Eventually I got to pick out two water lilies when he placed an online order for the plants.
Reference books
Biodiversity in the natural garden
German, Heiko K Voss, Heiko K. Voss, Heiko Voss, 2024
Let the pond live, whatever the cost!
The plants arrived at the beginning of May. We planted them, filled the edges of the pond with gravel and poured water from the rain barrel into the basins. For the first time, I deliberately took photos, because the ponds were finally looking like something you’d want to have in your garden. Within a few days, the remaining bits of dirt settled to the bottom of the water, and the water became crystal clear.
Insects discovered the ponds almost immediately. Beneath the surface, water beetles darted about – predatory insects that, according to Google, feed on algae and mosquito larvae. Welcome! I also found myself falling in love with this new, unexpectedly fascinating habitat. I loved watching the beetles and seeing how those tiny clumps of plants kept growing every day. Even the water cycle started to become reality. Before we knew it, a solar-powered pump with a hose and a water spout shaped like a duck were added to the cart.
But then came the first hot days of early summer. The small pond lies in the shade of a Japanese tree, while the larger one, gets full, direct sunlight every day. The water turned green, and a film formed on the pool walls. A lot of light means a lot of algae; warm water means less oxygen for underwater animals. I bought a beach umbrella and would set it up every morning, but it didn’t help. After just a few days, I could only see a few centimetres into the water. The big pond turned murky. And started going bad.
I felt defeated. I definitely didn’t want to throw chemicals into the water. Instead, we did some research and found out that we needed a pond pump with a UV light. The light kills algae, and the pump adds fresh oxygen to the water. A pond supply store advised us what to do, and we picked up a pump right away, even though we didn’t really want to spend that much money or run an electric wire out to the pond. But needs must and we wanted to keep the pond alive.
The solar pump and the duck spout arrived at the same time. Cheesy, I know. Really, really cheesy. I decided to send the duck back. I then had the vision of a small, homemade waterfall made of stones and pebbles. I wouldn’t need a spout for that. We agreed that we’d build it ourselves as soon as the algae problem was taken care of.
For a few days we were concerned it wasn’t working, but then the water seemed to clear up again. The pond had been saved, thanks to the pump. Two weeks later and the water was crystal clear.
The power of the sun makes the pond even more beautiful
When June came round it was time for the solar-powered water circulation system. I hid the small solar pump in the large pond behind a stone slab and ran the transparent hose discreetly up to the small pond. I rested the opening of the hose on a slab, wedged it under a rock and secured it with a strong adhesive, just to be safe. Using small pebbles – which, thanks to the adhesive, are also firmly in place – I was able to form a sort of channel. Now, when it’s sunny, a miniature waterfall trickles into the pond. The water flows back into the lower pond through the existing pipe.
I’d never realised before just how much fun gardening and landscaping can be. Every day, I watch what’s happening in the water feature. The plants are growing and seem to be thriving. Water snails settle in, and bees land on water lily leaves and clean their antennas. One day, a blue tit stopped by to take a bath. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my phone on me to capture the moment. Instead, I captured a frog spending some of its time in the new habitat. Or is it a toad? Never mind – the little creature’s having fun hopping around.
I’m so impressed with how well the solar-powered pump works that I wanted to make even better use of the sun. I’ve since bought a string of solar-powered lights from Govee. Unfortunately, these aren’t in stock at Galaxus right now. When they arrived, I arranged the eight lanterns on a ten-metre cable around the pond and set them to turn off at midnight. I didn’t want the light to disturb the pond animals. The lights slowly shift through various shades of white, yellow, orange and light green, giving the whole scene a mystical feel.
In other words, my new pond is a feast for the eyes day and night. And the insects love it. Bees, but also dragonflies and butterflies are drawn to the pond plants which are now in bloom. There’s always something to discover – and when there aren’t any little creatures around, I just let my gaze wander over the sparkling water’s surface and enjoy the little waterfall. Glorious!
The cherry on top
We couldn’t have a pond without a water lily. The leaves of the two water lilies now shade the pond so well that the blazing sun barely heats the water above 24 degrees. Of course, I couldn’t wait to see if the water lilies would bloom. And sure enough, in July, a plump bud slowly began to appear in the lower pond. By August it was in full bloom.
So far, it’s given us a total of three flowers. The water lily in the smaller pond produces leaf after leaf, but there’s no sign of a flower yet. Maybe that pond isn’t getting enough sun. Every day I check to see if a bud has appeared after all.
But even if it doesn’t bloom, the pond project was incredibly worthwhile. I’ve learned a lot and the garden has gained another feature. I’m also glad to see all the wildlife happily making the new habitat their home. I never would’ve expected our pond to turn into a little paradise.
Header image: Debora Pape
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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