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in the thicket of climber on the fence. The first ladybird of the year, a seven-spot, sunned itself on the ivy. And one of my favourite spiders is back.Pisaura mirabilis is a beautifully sleek and elegant creature, dusky grey with a beige streak down its back. It

and climbers, making them appear more hedge-like. Maybe the gatekeeper caterpillars, which feed on grasses like other brown butterflies, prefer a more shaded aspect to feed in.Or it may simply be that gatekeepers spend more of their time perching up high

. Good climbers they may be, but even their clawed feet are defeated by the shiny enamel. Leave a towel draped into the bath and they will, however, always find a way out.But all the males are gone now. Unlike most UK spiders which have a one year life

-cum-quay, the size of a single bed has been so enthusiastically decorated with plant containers that the table and chair are lost in herbage.Several hoverflies and bumblebees are visiting the flowers. Chaffinches and sparrows flit noisily through the climbers

or so semi-bonsai topiary trees. Many are sculpted into bobble 'cloud' shapes or manicured to form miniature hedges and climbers around the intricate buildings. They really make the place a magical world and produce a series of spectacular vistas

doubted that we would ever get frogs or toads in there, but south-east London amphibians have turned out to be remarkably good climbers.I've yet to see a toad up there, but every year we get frogs sploshing about and since 2005 we've also had common newts