NOTE: This shows an example of a tyre pond. All ELC settings need to consider location, access and the need for a cover. This pond was in my back garden.

Many years ago, I made a pond from an old tyre that had been sitting in my garden for more than a year.

I happened to have a hole that I had dug previously where the old food cone had been. Unfortunately, the soil type didn’t really help so food was not decomposing at a quick enough rate for my liking. The hole was covered with a plastic lining. You can buy special pond liner for such purposes.

I sat the tyre on top of the plastic. The book I was using, suggested the liner should go on the inside of the tyre. However I decided to keep the tyre as a topping to the pond and a little wetland habitat for the animals and plants. So this was not necessary.

Using a pile of old turf and compost mixed together with top soil, I created a pond “volcano.”

As I’m a lazy gardener, I covered the soil with a mesh mulch liner. This saves having to weed the garden.

I planted herbs including rosemary, sage, thyme, catmint and a fuggle hop. There were also sweet peas too. Meanwhile, I let the pond fill naturally with rainwater as it’s been such as wet spring and summer.

Then bark chips were added to match the rest of the garden. The blackbirds particularly like these chips as nesting material.

I bought oxygenating plants to provide oxygen in the pond as there is no pump. I looked for native plants to improve the biodiversity of my garden. The pond is situated near a hedge, close to a rowan tree and within a few metres of my log pile.

Three months later this is how my pond looked! Quite different…

When I peer over the sweet peas and raspberries, this is the pond – the plants are flourishing!

This pond stayed healthy for six years. I had to occasionally top it up with rainwater. It did become a wee haven for wildlife – the highlight being a toad living in the rim. In 2017, we substantially changed our garden and re-designed the pond. The tyre pond had been tucked away at the back. The new pond (version 1) was in our main pathway – it was a circular bucket and very small – too small. Also I didn’t like the location and design – too much of a trip hazard.

The next version wasn’t much better. We used a pond mould but the design caved in when we put it in the ground. Also it was still a trip hazard. Version 3 which was installed in 2020 was homemade. It was a larger rectangle and we created a series of levels to house plants. The liner is a standard pond liner.

This one isn’t suitable for having with young children for two reasons – it’s got no cover and the planks aren’t strong enough to sit on. However it’s been a massive hit with all wildlife – cats, birds and more because there are gaps underneath the long plants which enable them to easily access the water. The other wonderful addition is a solar pump. It’s now in its fourth season and is a happy pond.

This blog post was originally published in 2011. I updated it in 2023 but was tempted to remove it as it’s got limited use for schools – just a sentimental post from a retired teacher! Ah well!