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We have recently been greatly entertained by the cacophony of frogs as they splash about in the ditch and ponds. The loud croaking is the male frog calling for a mate or possibly warning other males away from his territory.Later on that same day

A plea rings out from gardeners across the country every year for a reliable control for slugs - something that will put an end to their slimy antics. Perhaps I'm in a lucky minority, but despite not having a pond my garden is hopping with frogs

falls. There was a lot of it, more than I would have attributed to a single frog. I stuck my fingers in to pull some out to show the children, and was surprised to find how difficult it was to separate. It must be 40 years since I last wrestled with some

put it back and went on with the day's work of clearing up the garden and smearing mud patterns on the patio.The frog caused much more excitement. I'm not surprised it took off like a demented rocket - I had just run right over the top

the garden as an excuse for providing shelter and hibernation hotels for wildlife. Who can argue with that? It's true that many insects and creepy crawlies, frogs, toads and other wildlife do need a place to shelter, and a pristine, tidy garden provides few

, water skaters, boatmen, frogs, toads and common newts all moved in. But now, four years later, the water level has dropped, leaving 20 cm of ugly butyl liner exposed and the shallow end high and dry. I don't know if one of the children 'fishing' with a

the dreaded pests and diseases can look good. Cuckoo spit usually appears from about June onwards and inside the fascinating glob of 'spit' are immature (or nymph) frog hoppers, most commonly Philaenus spumarius. They sit in the wonderfully protected frothy

or in the flower pot store. With frogs and newts, that's three amphibians in the garden this year.

.Although we've had frogs and toads in the garden for years, they've never bred successfully, and we've never had tadpoles in our small pond. I'm hoping the newts will have better luck. Since I re-made the pond after its leak last year, we've not had much else

for damselflies, pond skaters and who knows, maybe even the frog that caused so much excitement when it hopped out across the tarmac at playtime last week.