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with the Bumblebee Conservation TrustFor a factsheet on flowers for attracting wildlife to your garden, see Garden Organic

20 seconds worrying what the neighbours would think, and then relaxed, happy with our new arrival.My bumblebees (RIP) were rescued from friends who were landscaping their garden; some of my frogs were rescued from a kitchen drain and the rest I picked

Last year I wrote about autumn tidying and the effect this can have on wildlife. I left my garden untouched over winter, leaving hibernating creatures snuggled under a duvet of fallen leaves and rotting stems. None of my plants died or were ravaged

they are transformed by the arrival of tonnes of imported topsoil and a bewildering rainbow of garden plants, for Gardeners' World Live.Whilst I was there I was asked to research and create a container of plants to attract wildlife, and despite the rain, it looked

plumipes is not a bumblebee (although it's about the same size), and has no commonly used English name, which is a shame because it's a characteristic and widespread garden insect. I've always described it as the 'feather-footed bee' (the Latin - plumipes

the rusty-red females. And there were several specimens of the distinctive large black and ashy white Andrena cineraria.Lots of the bumblebee-like Anthophora plumipes have been darting about. The all-black females are often pursued by a posse of black

start flying from late January, it is only around the beginning of May that wasps start to appear. Bumblebees, especially, are early risers — early in the day and early in the year. Their furry coats help keep them warm, when it is too sharp for many

, where the container can sit undisturbed for several yearsMore on gardening for wildlifeProvide late-summer nectar for butterflies and bees.Learn how to identify bumblebeesBrowse our image gallery of butterflies and caterpillarsGrowing from seeds

fly, a huge bristly orange and black critter, Tachina fera. No English name for this one, despite being the size of a bumblebee. The trouble is that to merit a common name, insects have to satisfy two important criteria. First they have

tiny) garden.The garden isn't perfect and I've a long way to go, but I've documented my success by the variety of garden visitors I've gained since the transformation: blue tits and great tits, bumblebees, butterflies, moths, slugs, snails and leaf