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of ants scaled this giant, slicing through branches with their machines.I was quite upset but, ever the optimist, I used the opportunity to collect some local, native logs to make a nice wildlife habitat in my mum’s garden. I was sure she wouldn’t mind

This week I learned that there is little point in making a Christmas wreath unless you have a bright red front door to hang it on. Or any front door at all, really (both entrances to my flat are PVC French doors, which make the positioning of a

and rush home to make tomato and mozzerella salads (it was then that I first had the urge to grow basil).The next year I asked my girlfriend what we should try growing on the balcony. "Sweetcorn", she said. So I did. I grew six sweetcorn plants on the sixth

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology suggests that gardens make better habitats for bumblebees than the countryside. This isn't surprising, as field margins and hedgerows have become scarce over the years, so many species

Thank heavens for winter-flowering plants. These hardy specimens often have tiny, inconsequential blooms, but they more than make up for them with their powerful, sweet fragrance. I rarely notice the flowers of Sarcococca hookeriana, but I’m always

What makes us take up gardening? Are there really such things as green fingers? Are we born with the desire to tend our plots or does the passion for gardening come with age, or by accident? So much depends on whether the opportunity

or germinate into weeds. Buying better quality food means healthier birds, less mess and fewer rodents.We're getting to that point in the year when energy-rich food makes all the difference to small birds surviving winter. There's much less natural food

plant debris over the top, for extra shelter. In January I added the branches of the Christmas tree I used to make my bee hotel. Then in March, when I'd had quite enough of looking at it and was convinced the frogs had taken shelter elsewhere, I set

the ground. (I love dandelion leaves. There're so crunchy and refreshing after a winter of meagre salads. The trick is to pick them before they flower, after which they can taste bitter.) Then the nettles and wild garlic appear (which together make a

chaff and the wheezing call of the greenfinch.I'm getting very adept at recognising the various noises blackbirds make, thanks to the antics of 'Sid' in our garden. I can tell his territorial song (demonstrated from around 4.30am until it's time to eat