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The last few days we’ve had a toad wandering about near the back door. It ambled out from under the guinea pig’s carpet off-cut weather cover when I rearranged the hutch, and although I released it in the hedge it reappeared in the same place

We have a rambler rose just outside the back door, 'Félicité et Perpétue'. No matter how hard I cut it back, it still fights vigorously with the wooden slats of the featheredge fence, tries to smother the garden table and viciously rakes at my

. And yet it is precisely this shelter which is most in danger of being tidied away, cut down, mulched, shredded, composted or otherwise removed to make way for next year's grand displays.If you want wildlife to feel at home in your garden, let it make a

The orb webs of the garden spider, Araneus diadematus are much in evidence as the nights get cooler, especially in the morning when their dew- or rain-covered tracery is revealed all over the bushes.It's fascinating to watch them being created first

of worm regeneration.The trouble is that if a worm is cut in two, both halves wriggle, and they may continue for some time. The head end, the bit with the fat broad saddle segments about one-quarter down the length, may even burrow off into the soil again

It's been a very good year for codling moths in our garden. I can't say I've seen many of the moths themselves, but it's obvious there are plenty of them. Each time I cut into one of the windfall apples I am met with a crumbling mouldy brown mass

the tiny chequerboard mosaic of London gardens spread out below me. There are just so many wild corners down there, it's no surprise the area is full of wildlife.The recently published results of the RSPB's Homes for Wildlife scheme are a good measure

As usual, during the Easter holiday break, we find ourselves watching garden wildlife in sunnier climes -- in the Isle of Wight. At St Lawrence, on the southern tip of the Island, not only are we significantly nearer the equator than East Dulwich

We've had to cut down most of the Clematis montana. It had already done some damage to the featheredge and was threatening to bring down the entire fence. Oh well. It was a fast grower when we first planted it and has provided us with a huge drift

worked on.Some people are very precious about trees. This is because the tree has become one of the green super-icons of the environmental movement. Very simply — planting trees is good, cutting down trees is bad. Except it’s not that simple