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again, I’ve been dreaming about a big, leafy, watery garden. But why three ponds? Well, they would be of different sizes and depths, and therefore attract a wide range of wildlife. I would dig a large, deep pond, a medium-sized pond and a small, shallow

when I see it. Its bark is decorated with a thick crust of lichen, and lots of birds, especially thrushes, eat its fruit. It’s beautiful. Not only would my crab apple provide fruit for birds in winter, but its spring flowers would attract bees

, 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

There are so few plants that do well in my small, shady garden, but those that do thrive deserve a medal. This week, honesty is taking centre stage, with its tall spires of brilliant white flowers, towering above more subtle spring blooms.I love honesty. It's one of the many plan...

Two years, I felt the need to grow a local, native plant in my garden. I gathered rosehips from a field rose at the edge of a nearby canal, soaked them in water and sowed the seed in coarse compost.The pots sat in a corner of my patio, doing nothing. I’d almost given up when two ...

sited under a hedge and dutifully packed with fallen leaves and hay.Attracting wildlife to your garden can be a bit hit and miss. Bumblebees and butterflies, for example, will happily come to our gardens to forage for food, but often choose to breed

in the waste below.It's remarkable how much life a compost bin can attract. Books will tell you that a compost heap is one of the best garden features to attract wildlife but, somehow, this 'life' inside the bin can go unnoticed.We gardeners normally only

home to as many insect species as ancient woodland. So, rather than being waste areas, ripe for development, they form an important mosaic habitat for many creatures.Why is wildlife attracted to neglected land? One important factor is probably

it into a wildlife garden. I'll plant it up with a range of local, native plants (as well as some of my favourite bee-friendly cultivars), and monitor the wildlife that it attracts. So far we just have a friendly pigeon visiting, and the frogs I rescued from

of plots on your street, in your town, and up and down the country.But do we do enough to attract wildlife to our gardens? To find out, Gardeners' World Magazine got together with the RSPB and came up with an audit, published in the November issue. Broken