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the National Bat Helpline first for advice on 0845 1300 228.

– they gather to mate on the heap. Then hoverflies turn up to lay eggs on it. Once, a common blue butterfly spent the night on a particularly smelly mound of semi-rotted compost. What powerful antennae these creatures must have...

flower and patches of bare wall, I think about the ivy growing on the canal down the road. It's just coming into flower now, and is buzzing with the last of this year's hoverflies, bees and butterflies. Ivy would be a great choice for my garden - it

.Only one butterfly graces us today, but what a beast it is; the red admiral is a truly regal creature, with its inky black splashed with red and white insignia. Even its mottled and camouflaged undersides are beautifully marked and always remind me of cut

around 2001, and about that time I was shown the end-of-season remains of a nest in a small hollow tree in Sydenham Hill Wood. I had heard of them being spotted in Dulwich Park, but had never been fortunate enough to see them myself.There has been a

with some wood, landscape fabric and pond liner, and transformed the dead space on my shed into a wildlife oasis.High up above our cities, green roofs provide a refuge for endangered black redstarts, wild bees, butterflies and other insects, giving them a

out in Junesummeran hourSpanish flag, Ipomoea lobata x1Canary creeper, Tropaeolum peregrinum x1Bidens ferulifolia 'Golden Eye' x3Lysimachia punctata 'Gaulthier Brousse'44cm square tub1.2m willow wig-wamJohn Innes No.3 compostMulti-purpose compost

, froghoppers, moths, butterflies and bees. (The frogs I rescued and brought in.) I’m determined to make sure my garden provides the perfect home for wildlife over winter, and if I have to compromise a little on aesthetics, so be it. I've already made

are continually on the move. I hope the BTO is able to keep an eye of all five of them over winter and track their return journeys to the UK in spring.In the meantime, we gardeners can take a few steps to ensure this autumn's hibernating butterflies, moths

before lighting them, preferably making the pile on the day you intend to light it. If you find a baby hedgehog in autumn, take it in and keep it warm. Feed it with cat or dog food and water, but don't release it until it weighs at least 450g (1lb). Visit