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is generally the case with autumn lawn care) looked considerably worse than it did before we started.But at least the disaster zone is now level and the words ' has potential' is uppermost in my mind. I just hope the local bird population is not now feeding

on the surface of the compost and cover with perlite, the white granular material that can be purchased at most garden centres. Then put the seed tray or module tray in a propagator or on a heated mat at 16°C. The seeds will germinate in about 20 days, depending

by boiling). They also provide food for the caterpillars of some of our loveliest butterflies, including red admirals, small tortoiseshells, peacocks and the lovely comma . They not only feed butterflies and ladybird larvae, but can also feed us (although

, and the children are always impressed by how both male and female parents feed their young. Sparrows may be small, brown and not particularly exciting to look at, but I love them. They melt my heart, they really do. I know some gardeners are driven crazy

these wonderful creatures in my back garden. South London is now about the only place in the UK where you can regularly see these awesome monsters. My supposition is that when the housing boom spread across the area 100 to 150 years ago, it was one of the most

terracotta pot for about six years now. Like any permanent planting I used John Innes No.3 loam-based potting compost, as trees need compost with real guts. Even so you'll need to feed them - my acer gets a weekly liquid feed through summer along with all

small picture-winged fly, Rhagoletis meigenii (pictured above), in London's Battersea Park in June 2000. At the time this pretty little insect was thought to feed on the native Berberis vulgaris, but was believed to be extinct in Britain, having been

to encourage good cross-pollination between plants, each plant needs space to grow. This year each plant is at least 30-45cm (12-18in) from its neighbours, which should be enough.I'm trying a few varieties this year, including 'Swift', which is described as "an

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

tortoiseshells this summer, but hardly anything special. It wasn't until I spent a few days in the Cotswolds recently that I spotted a red admiral feeding avidly on a white buddleja. Even then it was just one solitary butterfly, hardly the numbers you'd hope for