Ponds must be in sunlight… but not such bright sunlight that the water will get too hot in a very small area. Buying and growing a lotus plant in containers is relatively easy and very worth the effort. Lotus plants are more cold hardy than some people realize. They will thrive up to USDA plant zone 5 (Chicago is in zone 5).

If you don’t have this type of equipment and would rather choose a slightly easier option, you can use a pond liner instead. In fact, even if you’ve made a plug, we recommend using a liner. Why? Because barrels often store alcohol, and alcohol contains chemicals that can leach into the pond water, causing harm to the aquatic life within. Some types of fountain pumps and lighting may require you to run an electrical cable or tubing through the hole in the bottom, but you can also usually run a cable over the side and hide it with a trailing pond plant hanging over the side such as Parrot’s Feather or Creeping Jenny. Plants added to my mini pond: Water lily, Slender club rush (Scirpus Cernuus), Variegated sweet scented rush (Acorus Calamus Variegatus), Water Hibiscus You can use a staple gun or even just a stapler for this. Our staple gun ran out of staples midway through, so we resorted to my home office stapler, and that still worked a treat (with a little oomph!). Step 4. Buy Pond Baskets, Pond Plants, Pond Soil and Gravel

Plants are the key to keeping your barrel water clear. You shouldn’t need to do an awful lot to keep your pond clear if you’ve chosen your plants right. Choose a range of plants for your barrel pond, ensuring at least 60% of those you’ve chosen are pond plants specifically, as these will help keep your pond water clear. Find the perfect aquatic plants for your container pond by visiting our aquatic plant gallery . Wine Bottle Fountain To avoid buying new plastic products, I recommend choosing a plastic barrel made from recycled materials . These offer a good compromise between respecting the environment and maintaining the practical qualities of plastic. I also bought oxygenating plants. These are small plants that look like freshwater seaweed and have little weights attached. You just throw the oxygenating plant in the barrel. And did you know that butterflies are a good indicator of how healthy your garden environment is? Create a garden for butterflies, and you’ll help other wildlife. See Why You Need a Butterfly Garden – and How to Plant It. And don’t worry about where the wildlife will come from

Once the liner is in place, cover the bottom of the barrel with a layer of aquatic compost. Then add a fine layer of grit above that. Aquatic plants can be planted directly into the layer of compost or you can plant in an aquatic basket.

Most aquatic plants should be fine, but you could give them some aquatic plant feed for a boost. You can buy aquatic feed balls that are full of nutrients and created to reduce algae. If you are going to use them for water lilies, ensure they are fully covered with aquatic soil in the lily pot; fertilizers can dissolve into the water alone and encourage algae growth. I plan another trip to Maidenhead Aquatics in the next couple of weeks to get some more plants. I’m looking for a long-flowering water lily; the one I started with died that winter. As with all water features, you need surface cover, or blanket weed will grow. early in the season, before the watermint, rush grass, Iris and waterlily has grown, it can get a hold. A piece of Rose stem, twisted near the surface, catches the blanket weed effectively. You can also see the wire fencing, just below the surface...

If you have a small garden, or want to use the planter inside, you should carefully measure how much space you have available. It seems that particularly wooden planters, that are upcycled from real barrels, are often larger than customers expect. You’ll be amazed by how much dirt is on shop-bought gravel. It’s important to wash anything going into your pond, including the gravel. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a super murky pond straight from the start. As mentioned, planters made from wooden barrels have often had a previous life storing wine, whiskey or some other liqueur. They tend to be made from oak, although could be constructed from other types of wood as well. Although this Blenheim Half Barrel planter looks like traditional wood, it is actually made from hardwearing plastic. As a result, it’s frost proof, lightweight and durable. No maintenance is required, and at 1.08 kg it’s easy to move around – unlike standard wooden barrels, which can be very heavy.Once your container pond has settled down, a whole ecosystem will start to evolve. Birds will start drinking from your pond if they have a suitable perch; you might even get hedgehogs, frogs and toads (if accessible for them). At least two of the barrels I have used have been whisky barrels, and a friend has used a wine barrel. You may have already filled your pond up slightly like we did to see where the water pushed the liner. However, now it’s time to fill it up fully! At this point, you’re likely asking, “What do I fill it up with?” Well, you’ve got two options:

Normally, by the time you've bought your barrel, it's been cut in half, and stored outside for a while. There may be a hint of aroma of the original contents, but often there isn't. If you collect rainwater, then this is by far the best water you can put in your half-barrel pond. However, if (like me) you don’t collect rainwater, then tap water works fine, too. You can use a plain washing up bowl to get started, these are 6″ deep. This will limit you to the plants you can have though, more depth gives you more plant options. Are you looking for inspired ways to transform your half-whiskey barrel planters into something new? Try decorating your garden with one of these 7 water feature ideas using half-whiskey barrels. Nothing else seemed simple, however. I initially felt overwhelmed by the amount of contradictory information out there. I have, I hope, simplified it for you. Where to place your mini wildlife pond

The surface few cm/inches of the container pond can freeze over without harm to the plants or damage to the container. The dimensions are 64 cm wide by 45 cm tall, resulting in a large planter with a very generous capacity. It may be too large for some smaller gardens, but if you’ve got enough space you’ll be able to plant bulbs, flowers, shrubs and even small trees.