Sheena Patterson of Oxford Garden Design on why gardening is good

The recent milder weather might have encouraged an sudden symphony of sound in Oxfordshire’s garden ponds. There’s no way of knowing exactly when this opera will commence but once begun there’s no mistaking it.

Very soon now, all sorts of animals will start to grunt, chirp and croak over the top of each other in a cacophony of mating calls, but one of the loudest sounds of all is emitted from one of the smallest creatures - frogs.

The recent history of the frog is not a happy tale to tell. At the beginning of the last century innumerable ponds were choked with spawn every spring, but by the 1950’s frogs had disappeared from many areas. Sadly, it’s the increased activity of humans in recent years which has threatened their survival.

Even before modern farming practices and increased urbanisation, life was always fairly tough for an average frog. Only a small percentage of tadpoles escape their many predators - fish, birds and water insects find them to be a tasty meal.

The survivors become frogs and find themselves faced with the danger of hedgehogs, rats, birds, snakes and of course French chefs. To maintain some sort of balance they have a prodigious breeding rate and it’s around this time of year that the action begins, often in garden ponds.

They will soon be starting to emerge from hibernation in the muddy depths of the water. If you have frogs in your pond, you will know about it. Any day now they will discover their vocal chords in preparation for the chorus which usually begins just as we humans are about to go to sleep.

Common frogs have been described as ‘explosive breeders’ which sounds a bit painful and indeed can be so. Sex is a risky business for many animals and frogs are no exception. It basically means that many males gather and compete for available females. Something like Oxford city centre on an average Saturday night. In the world of frogs, however, all the action happens over several days. Males can become exhausted from the competition and the search for a scarce mate, or from trying to dislodge other males from receptive females. The females themselves can be unintentionally crushed, drowned or simply exhausted under the weight of their many suitors.

Although called the common frog they are actually becoming rarer these days. This is where gardeners can make a difference by creating the habitats which they need in our gardens and by stopping the use of insecticides.

Creating a pond to attract frogs isn’t difficult. Ideally, it should be at least 60cm deep, in a shaded area. Use a pond liner and leave a few shallow edges for the tadpoles.

Fish eat tadpoles so you can’t have both and it’s important to let frogs arrive in your garden by themselves. Moving them into your pond can deplete other ponds of their populations. Leave wild areas in your garden, as well as leaf piles, rocks, logs and garden debris; all will provide areas in which frogs can forage and hide.

Frogs are a gardeners friend. They eat some of our deadliest enemies - slugs, snails and greenflies so if you decide to create a frog friendly garden you’ll be doing your bit for conservation and giving your plants some protection.

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