Search - Articles

dad puddle in leeks on the veg plot. I loved it, and am still enchanted by the smell of bonfires on summer evenings and swollen, ripe gooseberries, just as I was when I was roughly the same height as the plants.I also had a strong affinity

invertebrates to amphibians, hedgehogs and even birds. A stumpery is similar to a log pile, but you can have a bit more fun with it. It consists of upright logs half buried in the soil, allowing moss, lichen and fungi to grow. Some gardeners plant ferns

the plants will catch up, but I might not get a harvest until August. My spinach hasn't fared any better - that was eaten by snails.It's not all bad news. My tomatoes and chillies in pots are doing well and the cut-and-come-again lettuce leaves have already

Last week I spotted a speckled wood butterfly sunning itself on one of my plant pots. It was fresh and new looking, like it was drying its wings after emerging from a chrysalis. I was proud to think it might have come from a patch of turf I'd let

cm diameter pot, which I've moved into my flat. Once the plants have a few 'true leaves' and all risk of frost has passed, I'll harden them off before moving the pot into its permanent spot in the sunniest part of the garden.Beans are also heavy

get a moment, I'll be putting the new grow bag out with fresh tomato plants, so they can sit in there, if they like. It just won't have the attractive topping of dead foliage and Christmas tree branches, which I have lived with for long enough

morning when I find it skulking around the plant pots.I like cats, despite the havoc they wreak on wildlife. I don’t blame them for their murderous tendencies, and – touch wood – I’ve never experienced any using my garden as a litter tray. But I do worry

exclusively for wildlife. Building the garden from scratch, I was able to choose the best nectar- and pollen-rich plants for insects, put in a pond for my frogs (it's in a tin bath but it still has different depths and a variety of native plants), a compost

elsewhere. Growing nectar-rich plants is a good way to entice them in, but they won't nest in your flower beds. Butterflies lay eggs in long grass, nettles and thistles (depending on the species), while bumblebees prefer undisturbed messy areas

black mildew (which prevents the plants from photosynthesising and causes leaf fall). This was a disgusting job, made worse by the removal of the sticky blighters from my hair, clothes and fingernails after each session. The infestation was so bad