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of wildlife. The back garden is just 30 square metres of close-mown lawn and the front garden has just a few neat beds of geraniums and some small decorative cypresses. It's a holiday bungalow, so the garden is kept to a maintenance-free minimum

it. Consequently, it's just as brazen as they get. Twice, I've had to shoo it away from the guinea-pig cowering its run on the lawn. And, of course, it defecates just as much as any tailed fox.We regularly see foxes in the garden, and over the years I

-up views of an often regal and handsome beast. In other East Dulwich streets they are less welcome, playing havoc with lawns, and digging holes with seemingly malicious abandon, presumably to get at worms, one of their major food items at this time of year

Saturday afternoon and the doorbell rings. It's the neighbours. They haven't come round to complain about me noisily chasing nearly four-year-old up and down the lawn; they have a prize to show. I immediately recognize the plastic container as one

'm wondering what species of ant in my neighbour's garden proved so popular with one last week. It didn't seem to be having a feast out there, but it stayed for some time cautiously probing the lawn before being disturbed.There seem to be lots of green

specimen in the fox dollops that sometimes decorate my lawn, but dung beetles are not very common in my garden. So I was a bit surprised to see one in a spider web a few weeks back. It was Aphodius prodromus, at 5 or 6mm rather smaller than the huge 25

? Decking. I'm not sure what the received wisdom on decking is, but we have a thoroughfare near the end of the garden between the lawn and a secluded patio. Overshadowed by apple tree and creeper-covered pergola, and trodden underfoot by children stampeding

is there for a gardener than the reward of having wildlife use the habitat created for them? Two pairs of blackbirds regularly dart about my lawn feeding, chasing and protecting their territory. I'm not sure where their boundaries lie or whether they're happy

of the few stragglers left hanging in the branches is the blackbird. I'm so used to seeing these handsome birds strutting about on the lawn that it was a bit of a surprise when I first saw it dangling acrobatically in the tree. It certainly made me look twice

My lawn is bone dry. I keep putting off watering it because it's autumn for goodness sake and it should rain soon. It's looking a bit brown, but I know it will recover fine with the first precipitation. The clouds, however, tenaciously hang