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Our towns and cities have become pocket-sized safari parks for insects, amphibians, small mammals and birds. In many parts of the UK, a number of amphibian species - such as frogs, toads and newts - are facing serious decline because of the loss

to plants' roots.Use grey water from your baths, showers and washing up bowls rather than fresh water from the tap. Grey water contains minimal amounts of soap and detergent, though an eco-friendly washing detergent should be used if you have frogs or other

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

Spring is in the air. Birds are tweeting. Comfortable nests are being flung together. Plants are sprouting. Frogs are croaking lasciviously. Daffodils are flowering away with nothing less than gusto and the gloom of February fades into distant

I can keep the slugs out.In the meantime I'll continue to welcome in the hedgehogs, frogs, toads, beetles and birds that all play a vital role in pest control in my garden.

we'll need to back fill a bit more.We're going to have to put up a sign explaining that the pond will not have fish in it. It's a wildlife pond, and in my book fish and wildlife do not mix. And it's unlikely that frogs or toads will find their way

and this is a campaign to put some of them back.I have decided to name this new pond Bradbury Water in honour of my clever, slightly frog- and bee-obsessed colleague, Kate!

, and I won’t be giving pots another dressing of nematodes this autumn. I'm hoping my frogs are keeping the population under control (they're certainly getting fat on something), and I'd hate to deny them food.Perhaps in another six months I'll be writing

cover before the other plants grow into the gaps. My frogs benefit, as they prefer sheltered ‘corridors’ of dense foliage to move undetected around the garden. Newly planted pots of spring bulbs get the same sprinkling of clover – I like to think its