{"id":135609,"date":"2023-03-24T12:30:11","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T05:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/country-diary-the-irises-have-taken-over-the-pond-and-only-leeches-are-left-claire-stares\/"},"modified":"2023-03-24T12:49:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T05:49:14","slug":"country-diary-the-irises-have-taken-over-the-pond-and-only-leeches-are-left-claire-stares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/country-diary-the-irises-have-taken-over-the-pond-and-only-leeches-are-left-claire-stares\/","title":{"rendered":"Country diary: The irises have taken over the pond, and only leeches are left | Claire Stares"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nLangstone, Hampshire: The pond is almost devoid of life, apart from several of these greenish-grey segmented worms burrowed into the silt at the bottomMy wildlife pond has been leaking and, after several unsuccessful attempts at patching it up, the race was on to replace the liner before the smooth newts return to breed. Twenty-five years ago, I planted a single yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) in the shallows. While it is a British native, it\u2019s an invasive species and has taken over my modest two-metre-diameter pond, sprawling out of its planting basket, self-seeding into the silt. The thick mat of fleshy rhizomes \u2013 some as thick as my wrist \u2013 has smothered the more delicate plants such as miniature bulrushes, water mint and water forget-me-not, and displaced much of the water, leaving the pond almost devoid of life.After hacking through the irises and baling out the water, I hadn\u2019t found a single dragonfly or damselfly larvae, pond snail or water beetle. The only remaining residents were horse leeches (Haemopis sanguisuga), and plenty of them. Several of these greenish-grey segmented worms had burrowed into the silt at the bottom, while others were hidden in the folds of the liner. While the majority of leeches inhabit fresh water, horse leeches are only semi-aquatic, and more were lurking beneath the pebbles on the pondside beach. Continue reading…
\n
\nSource : theguardian.com
\nRead more…Country diary: The irises have taken over the pond, and only leeches are left | Claire Stares<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Langstone, Hampshire: The pond is almost devoid of life, apart from several of these greenish-grey...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-zhf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104089,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/in-the-cold-theres-hungry-birds-thick-ice-and-frogs-to-liberate\/","url_meta":{"origin":135609,"position":0},"title":"In the cold, there\u2019s hungry birds, thick ice and frogs to liberate","date":"February 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The pond ice was an inch thick, so Allan Jenkins broke through with a heavy hoe and launched Operation Free the FrogsPerhaps it is time I learned patience. 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I\u2019d love to fill our pond with plants,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":145552,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/britain-embraces-pond-life-as-aquatic-garden-plant-sales-boom\/","url_meta":{"origin":135609,"position":2},"title":"Britain embraces pond life as aquatic garden plant sales boom","date":"June 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\r RHS reports 35% surge in orders, while garden designers note pond trend at Hampton Court Palace flower showA pond boom is happening in Britain\u2019s gardens as people try to halt wildlife loss by digging water sources for amphibians and other aquatic life.Data from the Royal Horticultural Society shows a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":127950,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/top-tips-for-keeping-your-pond-pristine\/","url_meta":{"origin":135609,"position":3},"title":"Top tips for keeping your pond pristine","date":"July 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Without a little TLC these enviable water features can turn into algae soupTo my mind, there is no other garden feature that can provide as much joy as a pond, reflecting light, expanding the palette of plants that can be grown, providing enormous benefits to wildlife.Yet at this time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":138438,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/young-country-diary-crunchy-gooseberries-and-a-peaceful-pond-i-love-our-school-garden-robyn\/","url_meta":{"origin":135609,"position":4},"title":"Young country diary: Crunchy gooseberries and a peaceful pond \u2013\u00a0I love our school garden! | Robyn","date":"July 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Lancashire: It\u2019s nice and cool being in our outdoor classroom, and the views of the Lake District are like a paintingOne of the best things about summer in our school is our garden. 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