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and to bathe. Keeping their feathers clean is essential, especially in winter, as damp feathers are easier to preen. Preening spreads oil and waterproofs feathers, insulating them from the cold.BirdsDragonflies breed in water and need submerged plants

and nail the front to the sides. The pieces should all fit together without gaps.Use the self-tapping screws to fix the top to the sides and the front. This will allow you to remove the top to clean the bird box out.Drill a hole in the top of the bird box

aquatic compost6 assorted aquatic plants plus 2 oxygenating plantsWashed pea gravelLarge feature stone, a little taller than the height of the containerApril - Junean afternoonJune - SeptemberThoroughly clean the tin bath or your chosen container and seal

vegetables and washing up as well as that from baths and showers. Don't use water that contains bleach or powerful household cleaning products, which could damage plants.Water-retaining granules can be added to the compost when planting bedding in pots

found two hedgehogs in it last year). In amongst this shredded stuff we put all vegetable waste, old leaves and cleanings out of chicken houses (and, when we had such things, hamster cages). I also add the lawn mowings but, in order to stop it becoming a

. Pale custard-yellow flowers, blackish stems and great leaves.Sanguisorba canadensis - I'm a complete sucker for a sanguisorba. This was one of the first I grew and is an absolute star. Spires of sparkly clean white flowers that stand beautifully all

of the showground are three small gardens that I enjoyed. In particular a very clean-lined modern vegetable garden, Urban Veg, designed by Rene Humphrey and Christopher Parry. It's not just their first show garden but their first garden ever.Bigger, but along

It's that time of year again when sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea and a seed catalogue is much more inviting than going outside and cleaning the greenhouse, raking up leaves or - as I found last Sunday - removing diseased, mummified plums from

, cleaning them off and spraying some oil around. There are certain tools without which I cannot cope and others which I hardly ever use. Among my favourites are:1. My small border fork and spade, which are perfect for planting and diddling around.2. A steel

Brambles are the unsung heroes of the fruit garden.A couple of weeks ago I was spring cleaning my store cupboard when I found a stray jar of blackberry jam trapped behind the mountain of marmalade. The pleasure I got when we opened it for breakfast