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the weather here in London.The garden is still looking remarkably green, even after we cut down the now wilting and blackened dahlias. In fact we already have a perfect bird-feeder growing out there - the apple tree. And the bird that best takes advantage

We’ve had our fair share of the snow here in Bath. I spent Monday moving pots around in near blizzard conditions at the garden where I work as Head Gardener. I had snowflakes settling on every ripple and fold of my clothes – even on my eyelashes

-tailed tits in my garden next year.It's no surprise that Britain's smallest bird should suffer in the cold. It's all to do with body mass and surface area ratios. I wonder whether I can get away with a bit of maths on this blog. Imagine a cubic bird — strange

Plant shallots outside into well-prepared soilSow mustard and cress in a pot on the kitchen windowsill for a quick cropUse netting and bird scarers to protect fruit bushes from hungry birds, which can strip off swelling budsPrune side shoots

(by weight) of the UK avian population; two UK sea ducks – the velvet scoter and long-tailed duck - are now threatened with global extinction.Not all is doom and gloom. In the chart of breeding bird trends, many familiar garden species are actually

Make fat cakes for the birdsEnjoy watching birds feeding in your garden all through the winter by making your own fat cakes for them. Feeding garden birds is important for their survival over the coming months so make up a pot of our mixture

, they are field birds. The RSPB website is on hand with the answer — they readily come into the suburbs to visit gardens when the weather is snowy. The white is gone from my garden now, and so too, apparently, are the fieldfares, gone back to the fields. But as I

Clean out bird boxesLevel out dips in lawns with loam-based compost and sow fresh grass seedClear away debris that could be sheltering slugs and snailsCheck bonfires before lighting, in case they are sheltering sleeping hedgehogsSend off for seed

Spread a compost mulch around border plants to suppress weedsPut pond pumps and fountains back into pools, thoroughly cleaning filters firstLay turf or sow new lawns from seedClean out bird baths and top up with fresh waterCheck tree ties

Clean and sharpen knives and secateurs, and spray metal tools with oilPut up nesting boxes for birds in suitable trees or on buildingsMove shrubs growing in the wrong placeService petrol lawn mowersSearch through seed, bulb and nursery catalogues