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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

days ago I decided to dig up part of our 'lawn' (yes, the tamed pastureland is diminishing again!). Lifting turf on heavy clay is not the easiest job, but they both instantly joined me.My seven-year-old digs like a turbo-charged trooper - cutting

boxes. I just tear them up into small pieces and mix them in with other kitchen waste and lawn clippings. If the compost heap looks a bit dry then I soak the cardboard in water before adding to help it break down. It's surprising just how much plain

three-dimensional object from a drawing. Once one sees it, it's much easier to work out which plants will complement it best. I had already anticipated placing the sundial and hare on a chamomile lawn; having seen them, I'm pleased to say

? 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

, the serrated leaf stalks were pretty hard to handle) and my son and I heaved the pot onto the lawn to repot the palm. The deal was that, in return for his muscle power, he would have the old pot to grow his banana palm in. We only just managed to move it onto

After the frantic time of summer holidays, when it's as much as I can do to remember to mow the lawn occasionally or throw a bucket of water on anything that's drooped dangerously, we are edging back to the normal routines of work, school and ... a

through the windows of our log cabin (modern not rustic, and complete with TV, 2 bathrooms and air conditioning) and announced "Daddy, there's a pony on the lawn".The pony turned out to be a large elk, one of a herd of about ten females and young that had

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