Talkback: Tidying your garden in autumn

i think that we should learn to live with the wildlife in our gardens as it helps us and we help the wildlife not only that its great to be able to look out of the window and see all the different birds about on the feeders in your garden you help them they help you to get rid of the pests in return.me and my husband put in a pond early this year and weve had alot of wildlife in it already and weve got a frog which seems to love it in there .the only thing that upsets the frog is that all the birds that come in the garden they all have a drink and a bath in it.

As I pride myself on being almost self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables I fail to see why I should not encourage the wildlife in my garden as they are necessary for a good crop and to keep down aphids and other pests but I also get great enjoyment out of adding to the beauty of my garden. I think butterflies and dragonflies are as beautiful as my flowers and have many wildlife adventures. A heron hovering over my head in search of a frog for breakfast was so close it sounded like the whirring of a helicopter. The frogs struggle of course and I often have one who has lost a leg hopping round the garden. It is the survival of the fittest in my garden and after nearly fifty years of my care the eco system is in balance and it is a very productive garden for me - the top of the food chain.

I must admit i do not tidy up my garden too much for autumn.I left my cornflowers self seed and lots of other annuals as i like the more natural look.I was very happy to see some birds at the bird feeder the other day.They didn't stay very long and i've filled bird feeder again so hopefully they will be back.

I'm all for a bit of untidyness but I hadnt really thought about the wildlife hibernating value of the mass of pots piled at the end of the garden. Clearing them out was going to be one of my winter jobs too. I was looking forward to that and you've completely thrown me now.

Your new focal point is wonderful, not a wrong reason at all! Our wildlife is extraordinary and beautiful and we are so lucky as gardeners to be close to it. This year a have seen numerous frogs, the occasional toad, a dozen busy hedghogs and much more. But special - whilst harvesting onions I found a hawkmoth catapillar (onions left insitu!) and when trying to clear a pile of old hardcore and weeds behind the greenhouse, two young newts curled around one another. Truly their skin looked like velvet. The hardcore hasn't moved either! I say leave alone where you can, or create a hidden environment if you have to be tidy - you can hide old garden pots etc behind a winter display of containers for example. A neat pile of logs can have pots, bracken, clippings etc within. Please give nature a hand!

Many of us (self included) adore some species of wildlife, but aren't so keen on others. I love the robin that visits my allotment (I'm sure it's the same one every time) and the toad I found in a hollow under some leaves. But I'm none too keen on the slugs who turned my spinach leaves into doilies or the rabbits who ate all my cabbage seedlings. Perhaps scarecrows are the answer? http://www.mandysutter.com/reluctant-gardener-day-70-scarecrows/

it's fine to have a wild area in the garden but it really must be a large garden, it's not practical in a smaller space

Thanks for all your comments. Becky - perhaps you could buy/make a bird bath, so the birds don't scare the frogs? Neil H - as I said in the blog, my garden is 4m², so it is practical in a small garden. It might lot look its best, but no garden looks as good in winter as in summer, and with daylight hours reduced in winter, we see our gardens a lot less anyway. Kate

what to do with dahlia tuber need help

my garden is small it is 30 foot but half of my garden is my veggabble pach iv got starberrys and others

An old chestnut this one. As a gardener in North London it's a conundrum I face often - and not just in Autumn. In my experience there has been a growing shift away from designer lead, sharp edged gardens towards a greener, more tolerant one. This is to be welcomed. However,those spaces where wildlife really flourish, are always the "neglected" ones. These are rarely if ever planned to be havens they just end up that way, and when you have two or three together, they can look like miniature nature reserves.Certain trees and shrubs are magnets for birds and insects, Pyracanthas are great for House Sparrows- the taller and denser the better.In the Autumn/Winter they will have Blackbirds and thrushes feeding on the berries.Elder is great for birds and insects and Apple trees hard to beat. Sadly, many more clients want their ponds filled in than started. Wherever I have put in even small ponds - or restored old ones the insect life has exploded in just a few months. Soon followed by frogs, toads even newts.