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One of the best things about visiting a new country is meeting its gardeners. Never mind the gardens, it's the people behind them that interest me. Wouldn't it be wonderful to go back in time and meet Christopher Lloyd or Vita Sackville

What makes us take up gardening? Are there really such things as green fingers? Are we born with the desire to tend our plots or does the passion for gardening come with age, or by accident? So much depends on whether the opportunity

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology suggests that gardens make better habitats for bumblebees than the countryside. This isn't surprising, as field margins and hedgerows have become scarce over the years, so many species

is habitat loss in urban areas, caused by the paving of front gardens and the building over of back gardens. Changes in farming practices, such as the widespread use of pesticides, are also cited.There are quite a few moths in my garden. I love seeing them

It's easy to consider bees and birds when gardening – we see plenty of them if we grow the right plants – but what about bats? Emerging from their roosts at dusk and returning by dawn, they can often go unnoticed.My partner is a huge fan of bats

are declining so alarmingly, but the usual factors are likely to blame: in rural areas, there are fewer hedgerows to provide shelter, while use of pesticides removes a vital source of their food. In towns and cities, small, over-tidy and paved gardens reduce

I might move house this year. It’s very early days, but the possibility of having a bigger garden is sending my plant-collecting gene into overdrive. I currently grow plants in my small, shady courtyard garden. But after four years of this, I long

Following my recent blog Top 10 plants for a dream garden, I’m expanding the wishlist to include fruit and veg. I think it’s good to have a goal, no matter how distant it may seem.I like to think that if I have a decent-sized garden, with room for a

A few weeks ago, I suffered what swiftly became my most painful gardening injury to date: I stubbed my toe on a tasteless garden ornament. (It wasn't mine, I was helping out at a friend's garden.) Within seconds I knew this was no ordinary toe

A local cat has found my garden. It was only a matter of time, I suppose, after I had made the frogs, birds and mouse so welcome. And what a lure they must be, for the cat has to scale a six foot wall to reach them, as well as face my wrath each