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of year.The hedge outside is covered with birds in all shapes and sizes, munching away at the many and left-overs I've put out for them. I've left them little heaps of Christmas pudding, crumbled up biscuits and I've filled up one of the peanut feeders

very favourite garden destinations. I love seeing what we would regard as house plants growing with weed-like vigour on the roadside, or trimmed to form a hedge. Poinsettia always looks wonderful there, not to mention the tangled jungles of Opuntia

've been enjoying the fruits for months. Several cinnamon dusted apple cakes have been made and frozen, with the remaining apples to be eaten raw or left for the birds. Cut in half and wedged on to cut stems on the ancient hornbeam hedge along our drive

, such as wheat. The little birds prefer the small seeds, while the pigeons are less than impressed. I cram fat balls (without nets) into peanut feeders or place them on top of the hedge. I also cut apples or pears in half and put them, cut surface uppermost

to start early because although there is now a tremendous crop on some of the Prunus spinosa that we planted shortly after we moved here (the excuse was that it is of course, a great native hedging plant!).Those by the footpath will be cleared of all fruit

as a native hedging plant, but surely its time more were grown as ornamentals (with a sideline in winter liqueur production, of course). The only problem is that they self-seed and tend to spread themselves rather rapidly, but if they do grow too much

peanuts, and liberal helpings of bird seed. Every foot or so, along the top of the hedge, I've placed apple halves and mushy pear, interspersed with cereal bowls full of water. They also have access to a small plate of boiled rice, so hopefully they won

and watering the birds. Recent visitors include 32 sparrows, three robins, masses of assorted tits and hordes of blackbirds, all happily feasting on the hedge in front of our house.Before light the blackbirds are feasting on the cut apples, bird seed and fat