Are ponds eco-friendly?

Credit: iStock / ImageegamI

Carol Pope:

Is adding a pond or waterfall to your landscape an eco-friendly decision or not?

Mary Ann Newcomer:
I am not in favour of ponds or waterfalls as a general rule. Here’s why: unless they are professionally and perfectly created/installed, they tend to be maintenance nightmares. You may, in fact, attract raccoons, great blue herons, etc., but you will likely find your pond pump and hoses dragged across the lawn by the same raccoons, mosquitoes breeding like wildfire and algae on the rampage in no time. Where I live in Idaho, evaporation is fast.

I do suggest a small- to medium-sized self-contained, recirculating water feature. Aerated, moving water does not become a mosquito breeding ground. Birds, bees and butterflies will flock to the water source, and evaporation is minimal.