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shallow to sustain a tree and it only gets sunshine for two hours a day. But if you have better conditions, now's a great time to plant bare-root apple trees. Many varieties will fruit within a couple of years, won't need much attention (unless you train

Garden Birdwatch.Birds will only visit gardens where they feel safe. The ideal bird-friendly garden has a mixture of trees and shrubs for birds to shelter in, a lawn from which ground-feeding birds can forage for ants and worms, and a wild, grassy area

or planting a shrub or tree, now’s the time to do it.There’s a small selection of fruiting plants in my garden, namely holly, guelder rose (Viburnum opulus), dog rose  (Rosa glauca) and ivy. All were planted as bare-root shrubs last autumn, except the ivy

Last winter, when I went to great trouble to feed the birds in my garden, my offerings were largely ignored. This winter, I'm trying again, leaving seeds, chopped apples and suet pellets for ground-feeding birds such as robins, blackbirds

pupating and emerging as an adult. They are usually species of fly or moth, but some are types of beetle or sawfly. There are flies that tunnel through spinach and beetroot, moths that fashion phallic-shaped 'cases' from leaves of apples, beetles that leave

of apple trees, a greenhouse (that sadly got stolen), a wonderful bright yellow tub trug, an orange tree, and an incredibly sharp gardening knife. But I've also received some horrors, one of which was so bad I took it back to the shop and exchanged

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The pebble-sized raspberries that my mum grows, and which my granny used to grow. The tiny fruits are a pain to harvest but their flavour is amazing.
Apples from the gnarled old apple tree that (obviously) came with the garden.
Masses of French beans.
Black

visiting my plot. I put seed out for them which the pigeons couldn't reach (they had their own), and fashioned a snow-proof feeding station using an umbrella, which sheltered the birds and seed from snow. I left chopped apples in the borders. Everything

, such as lavender and viper’s bugloss. Then there are the trees and shrubs that have been too big to consider until now. And perhaps I’ll have room for a hedge or mini meadow (who am I kidding?).And then there’s the wildlife. Which species can I lure into my garden

of Tears is a dry stone wall, built with pieces of volcanic rock. It stands at about 4m tall and 20m long, in the middle of an arid landscape of cacti, giant tortoises and poisonous apple-like fruits from the Hippomane mancinella tree.Building the wall must