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The woodpigeons are back. Not that they had gone away, just that I’ve noticed them a lot over the last week. I love the way they strut their plump bodies about on the lawn, peering intently into the wet grass as if looking for something they lost

must offer an environment where the local ecology can feel at home. It's likely to include some grasses (beyond a neatly mown lawn) to provide seeds and pollen. It should also include a selection of umbellifers, such as angelica, fennel, chervil or dill

, the birds have been gathering grass, moss and dead leaves for the last fortnight, sneaking them through a gap above the shed door and constructing their nest within. The gap is too small for any marauding predators, and Chris, my mother-in-law, has vowed

plants (such as peas and beans, clover, vetches and bird's foot trefoil) to provides bees with the best quality pollen and give them the greatest start in life. Mow your lawn less often to encourage white clover and birds’ foot trefoil to grow and provide

observation and we had a short discussion on the significance of contrasting coloration, the myths surrounding hoarded jewels and foil sweet wrappers and the distinctions between other sorts of pie.As it fluttered down to the lawn I was just about to slip

Maybe the frog knew it was going to rain. Maybe the persistent dry heat had finally driven it from its slowly desiccating shelter in a desperate attempt to find moisture elsewhere. Maybe I'd disturbed it from the long grass as I pegged out

evidence that guerrilla gardening threatens wildlife biodiversity: "wildlife haven brownfield sites are just not the kind of places guerrilla gardeners attack. Typical starting points are compacted mud, inconsequential rye grass and very common weeds

salvage for the crumble.We don't have the most regimented of gardens, in fact it's a bit wild sometimes. But wildlife is, by definition, wild. As I said in the magazine, it has no time for straight lines, clipped edges, smart displays, or level lawns. We

was unkempt to the point of dereliction. Even when my immediate neighbour poisoned his entire back garden down to brown London clay to eradicate the nose-high false-oat grass, I could still see the bramble clumps in the next garden up the road. Over the back

on to their precious cargo. I'm not too worried about the grass, but I am concerned that without the damp September air, will I get to see any autumnal wildlife?I photographed these ink caps, Coprinus comatus, a few years ago in Brenchley Gardens in Nunhead