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by slugs and snails, and I spent many hours watching blackbirds foraging among the debris.In spring I tackled the garden in one go, removing leaves spiked on emerging bulbs, clearing spent stems and staking perennials. Only the still-sleeping frogs

stacked layers of old railway sleepers. It's not large, only 3.5 by 1.5 metres. And although it is over a metre deep in one corner, it shelves to nothing in another. Oh well, I'll just use the rest on the shed roof, where the roofing felt has ripped

is full. Hurry up spring. My compost bin fills up every winter. It’s a lovely wooden beehive type that looks perfect in our tiny garden. It’s sited against the south-facing wall and gets really hot and steamy in summer. The frogs love it and it’s full

and running now that I've replaced the liner and refilled it, has frogs and newts at certain times of the year, but I've covered it with a wire mesh to prevent certain 2-year-olds taking an accidental dip, and I'm certain it would also foil the attentions

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

critters in my garden - the blue and great tits tackle the aphids for me (ladybirds don't get a look in), while the frogs and blackbird do a good job of keeping vine weevil numbers down. The frogs also make sure the slugs have no chance of establishing a

, 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

.Laois. It is the next step in shows like Chaumont in France or the (late lamented) Westonbirt show in Gloucestershire (I had a garden there in 2004).Many people are justifiably wary of the word conceptual in relation to anything, especially gardens as it is often

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

The temperatures might have dropped a bit this week, but that doesn't seem to have slowed down the onset of spring. We have a pair of blue tits setting up home in one of our bird boxes in the garden and the frogs are having a high old time