Gardens can be an oasis for dragonflies; 17 species of dragonflies are known to breed regularly in garden ponds. Even a small pond can harbour dragonflies, such as Southern Hawker!

There are also a number of other things you can do to create a dragonfly haven in your garden, so get those gardening gloves on and get started!

Ponds for Dragonflies

Garden ponds come in all shapes and sizes and can be made in a great variety of ways. Large or small, your pond can support dragonflies. Having a dragonfly pond in your garden will open up a world of fascination and magic that you never knew existed! You will be able to peer into the watery depths to catch a glimpse of the larval dragonfly hunting its prey. You can witness up close the incredible phenomenon of dragonfly emergence when the adult bursts from the larval skin. And through summer, you can watch males displaying and taking part in territorial fights, while also quietly observing the female dragonfly’s secretive egg-laying behaviour.

Follow the links below for advice on pond creation and management.

Save Water for Wildlife

Clean freshwater is a precious resource- for us and wildlife. Due to climate change and increasing demand, large areas of the country experience water scarcity every year.

Garden ponds are one of the best ways to support your neighbourhood nature- as it provides a home to freshwater species and drinking water for other wildlife. If you don’t have space for a pond, consider installing a bird bath for thirsty critters!

There are plenty of easy actions we can take at home to reduce our own water usage (and our water bill), like installing water butts to collect rainwater for gardening.

Visit the Water’s Worth Saving website for top tips for the home and garden.

 

Image by Alisdare Hickson.

Plants for Dragonflies

Dragonflies are voracious predators that consume large numbers of small flies, as well as other flying insects. As a result, one of the best ways to help your local dragonflies is to ensure your garden supports large numbers of prey.

Helpful activities include planting native wildflowers and reducing the amount you mow your lawn.

You can find plenty of advice on the Buglife website.

Hoverfly by Tom Lee

Record your Dragonflies

When the dragonflies start appearing use our identification help page to work out who’s visiting your garden. You can report your sightings to iRecord and keep track of how your pond species vary from year to year.

Further Information On Wildlife Gardening

We thoroughly recommend subscribing to the following YouTube channels for lots of free information on all aspects of wildlife gardening:

 

 

Wild Your Garden with Joel Ashton

Joel is our ambassador and has been creating wildlife

gardens across the country for over 15 years. You will find ‘how to’ videos and advice on his YouTube channel. Joel has also condensed his vast experience into a book of the same title ‘Wild Your Garden’.

Click here

Wildlife Garden Project

Our friend Laura Turner has created a series of video guides on how to help wildlife in your garden, no matter how experienced you are or what your budget is. The Wildlife Garden Project makes gardening for wildlife truly accessible for everyone.

Click here

Green Fingered George

RHS Youth Ambassador and dragonfly fan George regularly shares his gardening knowledge online. He has focused increasingly on wildlife gardening since creating a number of wildlife ponds with his family at home. We recommend giving him a follow on social media too.

Click here

Green Fingered George

Title image: Pond by Vadim Piottukh