The Horse Pond

Head Gardener, Fergus Garrett on the Horse Pond.

This informal semi-natural pond was used by the heavy horses that once worked the land at Dixter. Waterlilies decorate the water. The pond is clay-lined and has a ring of willows separating from the road. Red stemmed dogwoods sit on one side with Gunnera tinctoria on the other. Long grass wraps itself around the pond with an assortment of trees giving shelter.

Occasionally grass snakes can be seen on the water. Kingfishers and herons visit the water. Orange-tip butterflies feed on the Ladies Smock (Cardamine pratensis), which grows in the ditch with the water dropwort, Oenanthe crocata.