Search - Articles

Wash and disinfect bird feeders and tables Collect fallen leaves and add to a leaf bin to compost down Spread fresh gravel or grit around alpine plants Shred prunings and add to your compost heapCollect and empty hoses and sprinklers to store

bumblebees to nest in my garden, despite providing them with a good source of food throughout the year. Last summer several bumblebees grew fond of one of my bird boxes and would pop inside to shelter from the sun, so I’m hopeful some might nest

Plant spring bedding, including wallflowers and forget-me-nots, among tulipsLift, divide and replant congested clumps of perennialsNet holly berries to protect them from hungry birds if you want them for Christmas arrangementsPlant lily bulbs, including

Has the snow been a good or bad thing for our gardens? Well, probably a bit of both, but I do live in hope that the cold weather has helped kill off a few garden pests. We've all had our fair share of snow over the past couple of weeks, with varying

Sow seeds of dwarf beans in rows and climbing ones alongside canesPlant out crops being raised in pots under glass, such as marrows, courgettes and tomatoesCover soft fruits with netting to prevent birds eating themSow a few seeds of salad leaves

Hang old CDs among crops and from fruit trees to scare away birdsWater beans and sweet peas as they start to flowerGive extra water to ripening soft fruits such as raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries and currantsFeed tomatoes and crops

and other berries from birdsCut out fruited canes of raspberriesPile up the earth around trench varieties of celery for whiter stemsPick 'Discovery' and other early ripening applesPrune blackcurrants after fruiting, removing about a quarter of the oldest

Pick ripe apples and store the best in fruit cratesDig up strawberry runners and pot them upNet autumn raspberries and blackberries to protect them from birdsLift and dry maincrop potatoes and store in paper sacks in a cool, dark placePot up a few

to keep birds awayPrune overgrown laurel, yew and camellias back hard to rejuvenate themWrap straw or bracken around the base of tender shrubs and climbers to protect them the from coldCheck stakes and ties are secure on trees and climbers

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Europe’s smallest bird. I would have expected such an occasion to take place in a pine forest or a large rural garden, but this chance encounter occurred on a scrubby piece of park just behind the Hackney Road