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. This worked a treat. I caught around 10 bees and placed them all in a jam jar. Then I lifted the nest into the box, emptied the jam jar on to the nest and let the bees settle. An hour later I took them home with me.Since then, the buff-tailed bees (Bombus

wooden box filled with stems of sunflower, teasel and bamboo to make a solitary bee hotel.But that's no guarantee - wildlife can choose the most unpredictable places to live. This summer I visited some buff-tailed bumblebees nesting in a concrete path

(apart from the human, of course). In the south of the UK it's estimated that around 80% of bumblebee nests in gardens are predated by wax moth* - perhaps because nests under sheds, in compost bins and bird boxes are easier to find than those hidden

or beneath sheds, while the common carder generally chooses thickets of long grass or compost heaps to nest in. But bumblebees will nest anywhere they deem 'suitable', including bird boxes, lawnmowers, concrete paths and old duvets.I’ve yet to encourage

. Foxglove14. Heather15. Honeysuckle16. Lavender17. Poppy18. Pussy willow19. Raspberry20. Red Campion21. Rosemary22. Scabious23. Sea Holly24. Sunflower25. Teasel26. Thistles27. Viper's bugloss28. WisteriaI'm growing 21 of the above plants in my garden

with the garden wildlife, or at least I liked to think so. I remember my dad waiting for the blue tits to leave the nest box so he could quickly lift me up and show me the baby birds inside. Once, aged two, I found a worm that had been pecked at by a bird, so I