The absolute best thing I ever did to my garden was build a pond. I don’t really know how or why I ended up with one that spanned the entire garden but it was something to do with being a bit fed up with the puddle I’d been living with. The wildlife deserved better.

I started watching Youtube videos, and got hooked on the idea of an American Ecosystem pond, with flow and filtration and crystal clear water. It’s as close to nature as a pond can get, and it is designed to work without any chemicals.

But five years ago there weren’t many people building them in the UK, so I decided to have a go myself. I spent months immersing myself in pond life, planning and watching @gregwittstockthepondguy, @team_aquascape and @atlantiswatergardens before I felt ready.

Three weeks later I had a pond.

Without putting too fine a point on it, digging a pond by hand was one of the most back-breaking things I have ever done. But it was worth every shovel.

The principles of an ecosystem pond:

Ecosystem ponds mimic the process of flowing water in a stream or river. This continual flow helps preserve water quality and clarity, prevents stagnant water and discourages the breeding of mosquitoes.

Water passes down through layers of gravel which act as a filter and also provide home to beneficial bacteria before being pumped back to the falls to cycle back through the pond. This ensures a continuous supple of clean water in your pond.

The presence of gravel and rocks in the pond itself has been the subject of much debate but forms a crucial element of an ecosystem pond. They provide additional surfaces for beneficial bacteria to thrive.

Pond plants further help to further filter and clean the water.

A well established ecosystem pond will operate without the need for any chemical treatments and provides a fantastic home for fish and wildlife to thrive.

A few things every pond must have:

• Flowing water: A pond that doesn’t flow becomes stagnant. A flow keeps water fresh, oxygenated, and clear.

• Plants: Provide oxygen to the pond and remove nutrients that might build up through rotting plants matter and leaves. Plants are fantastic at helping keep water clear and are essential to the ecosystem.

• Circulation: A pond doesn’t need to be fed by a river. Instal your pump and one end and some falls at the other and link them with a pipe and you’ve got circulation. Even in small ponds and bowls you can circulate using a fountain.

• Sound: The sound of water in the garden is perhaps one of the most relaxing sounds you can hear. It will bring a sense of peace and calm like no other.

  
  The one thing a pond doesn’t need.
  

• Fish: Strange as it may sound, fish are not essential to an ecosystem pond. Our pond was a wildlife pond for years before we introduced river minnows, which I chose for their minimal impact on the other wildlife. Ornamental fish such as koi or goldfish will devour newt eggs, spawn, and anything else they find so if your idea of a pond is as a haven for actual wildlife, spare the orange fish.
  

  The rest of this article contains construction details, filtration layers, component list, dimensions and the lessons I'd learned after building it. That section is available to paid subscribers, whose support helps me keep producing detailed guides like this.

Follow me on Instagram for more pond and exotic garden content: @bigleafbotanics.

The method I’ve used to curate the plants in this garden has never really warranted a list. I even struggle to remember what I’ve gone to the garden centre for half the time, and it’s rarely with a planting scheme in mind.

This garden has instead evolved in the way a collector might approach things. I see things I like, and I make room for them. I go for plants that I might have seen abroad, or ones that look like they belong in a far more exotic location than Essex.

Occasionally I might have a spot in the garden in mind that needs filling, but that’s as far as it goes. I am, however, careful to check hardiness and soil preferences, to give the plants at least half a chance of survival.

When you learn what they are, some of these plants might surprise you in their mundanity. Some of them in another setting wouldn’t feel very exotic at all. In fact, I would call this a semi-exotic garden, in that a few jungly plants do all the heavy lifting.

I’ve discovered a fair bit myself researching this list, from plants I thought were quite domestic but are actually from the other side of the world, to one that has sent a shiver down my spine and is going to have to come out. Or at least live in a container.

To make this list more digestible I’ve broken it down into images. I know it would be useful if I numbered the list and corresponded it to the images, but I wanted to get this out to you. If I return and do that, you’ll be the first to know.

So here’s the list:

Above pic, right side:

Merlot grapevine (Vitis vinifera)

White fig (Ficus virens)

Lemon scented geranium (Pelargonium crispum)

Geranium (Pelargonium)

Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia Augusta)

Peach (Prunus persica)

Creeping wire plant (Muehlenbeckia complexa)

Left side:

Australian Jungle Brake Fern (Pteris Umbrosa)

Olive tree (Olea europa)

Hardy begonia (Begonia torsa)

Canna Lily (Canna)

Date Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei)

Himalayan horse chestnut (Aesculus indica)

Cabbage Palm (Cordyline Australis)

Fringed lavender (Lavandula dentata)

Olive (Olea Europa)

Above pic:

Pots:

Fringed lavender (Lavandula dentata)

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)

Mandarin tree (Citrus reticulata)

Creeping white phlox (Phlox subulata)

English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

Feather grass (Stipa)

Chillean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis)

Bed:

Banana (Musa basjoo)

Mahonia (Mahonia Japonica)

Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

Above pic:

Cabbage Palm (Cordyline Australis)

Fringed lavender (Lavandula dentata)

Olive (Olea Europa)

Mexican orange (Choisya dewitteana)

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

Ginger lilly (Hedychium)

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)

Meadowsweet (Spiraea)

Rose (Rosa)

Japanese privet (Ligustrum Japonicum)

Sambuca (Sambucus nigra)

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

Bay (Laurus nobilis)

Above pic

Chinese rice paper plant (Tetrapanax)

Hart’s tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium)

Hard fern (Blechnum spicant)

Mophead hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)

Greater pond sedge (Carex riparia variegata)

Hardy begonia (Begonia torsa)

Water iris (Iris pseudacorus)

Umbrella palm (Cyperus alternifolius)

Colocasia (Colocasia esculenta)

Water lily (Nymphaea)

Ginger lilly (Hedychium)

Pittosporum (Pittosporum tenuifolium)

Variegated Japanese spindle (Euonymus japonicus)

New Zealand tree fern (Dicksonia Antarctica)

Golden crookstem bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Aureocaulis') DON’T PLANT THIS IN THE GROUND.