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-looking wreath, so foraged for holly and ivy stems in the park. I chose both mature (non-prickly) and juvenile (prickly) holly, to reduce the pain factor of making the wreath, and took a very small number of holly and ivy berries, leaving plenty for the birds

garden and draped the spent mistletoe and holly berries in the branches. I hoped the tree would offer enough shelter for the birds brave enough to feed from the berries and adjacent feeders. And guess what? It worked. We now have wagtails (which

ready for the council to come and collect. On some of the leaves were ladybird pupae, while spiders spun new webs in the wreckage. There may also have been chrysalises of the holly blue butterfly, whose caterpillars feed on ivy in summer. They

. Foxglove14. Heather15. Honeysuckle16. Lavender17. Poppy18. Pussy willow19. Raspberry20. Red Campion21. Rosemary22. Scabious23. Sea Holly24. Sunflower25. Teasel26. Thistles27. Viper's bugloss28. WisteriaI'm growing 21 of the above plants in my garden

or planting a shrub or tree, now’s the time to do it.There’s a small selection of fruiting plants in my garden, namely holly, guelder rose (Viburnum opulus), dog rose  (Rosa glauca) and ivy. All were planted as bare-root shrubs last autumn, except the ivy

once watched a great tit dive into a clump of forget-me-not to retrieve a fat caterpillar. I also grow native shrubs such as holly, guelder rose and dog rose. A native hedge can also help moths – a mix of species including hawthorn, hazel, dog rose

, and I'll plant some hawthorn and holly for the birds in winter. My ivy seedlings are a long way off flowering.Of course, each of our gardens forms just one piece in the jigsaw puzzle. So if you don't have a pond, but your neighbour does, don't worry