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prolific weeds in my beds. It's actually quite a charming plant, with little blue flowers and a creeping habit. But it gets everywhere. It has a nasty habit of hiding under plants, where it sets its roots down close to the stem. This makes it difficult

Visiting an old friend in West Dulwich last week I saw the first damselfly of the season. I wasn't quick enough to see which, but it was a male of either the common blue damsel (Enallagma cyanthigerum), pictured below, or the azure (Coenagrion

To my mind, the asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi, is one of our most beautiful insects. The Mondrianesque juxtaposition of its red border, creamy yellow squares and inky blue-black outlining is just astonishing.Although only 5-6mm long, it's a

the day either, as temperatures struggle to get above zero!Feeders are replenished with seed and nuts as levels drop, ensuring there is a good supply of these 'high energy' feeds for the many blue tits, great tits, sparrows and starlings actively pecking

of the lawn, then zoomed up and away. Several holly blues were skipping about over the ivy-covered fence at the weekend, all probably freshly emerged form chrysalides buried deep inside the tangled thatch.But what really caught my eye was the pas de deux dance

.Now, with the increasingly warm weather, the aphids are happily multiplying on just about any fresh, soft growth that they can find. In a bid to thwart them I’ve tried the trick of hanging bird feeders on shrubs. The blue tits form an orderly queue for the feeder (they

.Elsewhere gardeners fret over a superabundance of magpies, or sparrowhawks, choosing not to celebrate these wonderful birds’ beauty, poise or cunning, instead blaming them for decimating the local populations of blue tits and goldfinches. Yet further afield deer seem

June - August20 minutesRue, Ruta graveolens 'Jackman's Blue'Miniature patio roses x2Pale green thyme, Thymus pulegioides 'Foxley'Garlic chives x3Small lavender, such as 'Munstead' x3Window boxCrocksPeat-free multi-purpose compostPlace the crocks

In the heat of summer, this showy pot will bring a taste of the tropics to your garden. The huge, red-tinged banana leaves flounce above a frothy skirt of blue-grey parrot's beak and honey bush, and fiery begonias. April - JuneJune - September30

heavy with a skirt of cerinthe. Its silvery blue leaves lift the dusky pink and purple flowers beautifully.sow in early spring, pot on in April, plant out in Junesummeran hourDahlia 'Franz Kafka' x3Cosmos 'Sonata Carmine' x2Cosmos 'Sensation' x2Cerinthe