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I've been quite frustrated with my garden lately. I'm getting impatient waiting for plants to become established; there are too many gaps in the borders and the recent cold spell has prevented the quick germination of seeds I sowed on bare soil. All

It's easy to consider bees and birds when gardening – we see plenty of them if we grow the right plants – but what about bats? Emerging from their roosts at dusk and returning by dawn, they can often go unnoticed.My partner is a huge fan of bats

While many plants have been late to flourish this year, I’m pleased to report that the blue and great tits that forage in my garden every spring are bang on schedule.Regular readers of this blog will know that every year my tiny courtyard garden

, full of awe-inspiring floral displays and show gardens (and some pretty dodgy ones, too - plasticine?).I'm particularly looking forward to seeing the Bradstone Biodiversity Garden, the Global Stone Bee Friendly Plants Garden, The HESCO Garden

.  As part of a research programme, sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Lionel has spent the last few years finding the best plants that would withstand the usual trampling our lawns endure, have a lower carbon footprint, and provide a more

I've just thrown a 'plant party', as part of 'Grow Your Own' Week. This involved my friends coming to my flat and learning how to sow tomatoes and chillies. We also discussed pricking out, transplanting, feeding and watering. It reminded me of my

elsewhere. Growing nectar-rich plants is a good way to entice them in, but they won't nest in your flower beds. Butterflies lay eggs in long grass, nettles and thistles (depending on the species), while bumblebees prefer undisturbed messy areas

concern ourselves with the slugs that eat our plants. But look inside your compost bin and you might find their yellow cousins, Limax flavus. Yellow slugs are a gardener’s friend, as they feed almost exclusively on decaying matter. I have only once seen

.Some plants need moving, some need supporting, some need feeding, some need pruning. Many just need sowing.I need to cut the lawn (we don't have a mower so we do this on our hands and knees with shears.) Luckily it's full of dead patches so it shouldn't take

visiting my plot. I put seed out for them which the pigeons couldn't reach (they had their own), and fashioned a snow-proof feeding station using an umbrella, which sheltered the birds and seed from snow. I left chopped apples in the borders. Everything