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, they will not thrive in sodden soils - decent drainage is essential. As with any other plant, get them off to a good start by incorporating plenty of organic material, such as home-made compost. Oriental poppies will appreciate a small amount of fertiliser, but don

, and therefore a must for every garden.Designing your wildlife gardenWhen planting a nectar border or any selection of flowers to attract insects, think first of what's best for them and second, of what you want to look at. The two are not remotely exclusive

for wildlifeLearn how to identify bumblebees in your gardenGrowing wildlife-friendly plantsPlants for bees

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

. With minimum care, they'll flower year after year, and many will bulk up into clumps after a few years.Like cultivars, species tulips prefer growing in free-draining soil in full sun. Plant them in drifts for swathes of colour, dot them around a rockery

completely destroying the plant.I haven't got any daffs in my garden, but the fly is quite welcome to the Spanish bluebells that come up in vigorous drifts every year. In the wider countryside it is quite at home using native bluebells too. My fond attachment

around your garden grazing on aphids and slugs. If you let full-sized hens into your borders then they will kick soil all over the shop and peck large holes in the emerging shoots of your most precious plants. Bantams are less destructive, but if the main

To Soicherons, Villars-Dompierre, in the Cote d'Or region of France for two weeks and the wildlife here is subtly different to that in East Dulwich. For one thing we are surrounded by large flowery meadows, hedges dripping with Mirabelle plums