Search - Articles

and The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust makes mixed reading. Most of the national media have concentrated on losses and falls to make their articles ‘newsworthy’. Pick your own statistic: 22 million birds lost since the 1960s; non-native birds now make up 20 per cent

over the hedgehog to make it feel secure. Offer your orphan some water and meat-based dog or cat food (not bread and milk, as this can make them ill). If the hedgehog doesn’t take the food or is injured, call the British Hedgehog Preservation Society

, but the cold always gets to them eventually. No, these plants need to come indoors, so I’ll make space for them on the windowsill in our spare bedroom. The aeoniums, sedums and echeverias will enjoy the full light of this south-facing window, with just

and take down my home-made box. Then it's an easy job - simply remove all the nesting debris and thoroughly sterilise the inside of the box with boiling water. After leaving it to dry out, put it back in position.When buying or making a nest box, make sure

entrance hole can make a fantastic substitute for many species. And birds won’t just breed in it – a well-placed box can also provide winter refuge for small species such as wrens. More than 60 species are known to use nest boxes, including blue tits, great

magnolias, cherries and azaleas. It’s a great place for wildlife enthusiasts, too. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare, I’d heartily recommend a visit to your nearest arboretum. It makes a much cheaper, healthier and probably happier alternative

pallid nymphs make the white frothy gobs of cuckoo spit as they feed by sucking plant sap. There are dozens of them. And not only are they hopping about on the sunny foliage, they’re busy having sex too. Perhaps this is a bit ambitious, given that they

because their tadpoles are slightly poisonous and so the fish are less likely to eat them, preferring frog or newt larvae. Frogspawn tends to be eaten by newts, and frogs require shallow water to breed in, so it makes sense to provide them with separate

-in-law’s greenhouse for the winter.Third - and this is very positive news - the frosty snap will have done wonders for your parsnip crop. Parsnips need a bit of cold to give them the wonderful sweetness that makes them the perfect accompaniment to Sunday lunches

in the kettle after making my first brew of the day to melt them. The bracing cold also helps to wake me up! (Note to self: add thermal pyjamas to my Christmas list).6. Complete seed order before ChristmasMy neat pile of 2013 seed catalogues is sitting next