Nursery plants the seeds for thriving ponds

A pilot project is helping give support to flowers of an aquatic nature in Denbighshire.

Staff at the Council’s Tree Nursery, at St Asaph, are growing two types of aquatic wildflowers to help nature around ponds flourish.

The Council’s tree nursery is funded by the Welsh Government, through the Local Nature Partnerships Cymru project and Local Places for Nature grant.

Nursery staff and volunteers are working to boost species numbers of trees including black poplar, wild service tree and oaks by sourcing seeds from the local area and growing them on.

They also use a similar method to grow varieties of wildflowers on site by sourcing seeds from Denbighshire’s meadows.

Seeds have now been sourced from local ponds to grow water forget-me-not and also brooklime in propagators to help increase biodiversity pond side areas across the county.

Water forget-me-not produces a cluster of sky-blue flowers over the summer.

Tree nursery assistant Sam Brown explained: “Its really good for Great Crested Newts, it has nice big leaves on which they can lay their eggs and fold the leaf over to protect them.

“This is also known as a rafter, it grows the roots into the margins of the pond and then it grows across the surface of the water. Newts just love it because it means they can inhabit the whole water column there without having to worry about predators from getting them. So it's a good shelter and pollinators love it as well.”

The plant is perennial and when ready, the plugs can be planted by just creating a little slit in the clay around a pond and put in.

Tree nursery staff are also attempting to grow more brooklime which is useful for providing shelter for tadpoles and stickleback and encourages dragonfly activity.

Councillor James Elson, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport, said: “Our nursery staff and volunteers are looking forward to growing this pilot project to provide aquatic wildflowers to help support local pond-based biodiversity.

By nurturing them at the nursery before planting, the team will learn what methods work best to encourage growth and ultimately add to the varied plants and trees that the nursery is providing to boost nature in our local communities.”