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, they will not thrive in sodden soils - decent drainage is essential. As with any other plant, get them off to a good start by incorporating plenty of organic material, such as home-made compost. Oriental poppies will appreciate a small amount of fertiliser, but don

, such as 'John Downie' and 'Red Sentinel', which seem to also have good wildlife value. They’re all hardy and do well in most soils, and are now usually grown on dwarfing rootstocks so they reach an eventual height of just 4m. But they do like a bit of sun

Dagenham, in an area completely out of bounds to the public, when I stumbled across what looked like a baby, half-buried in the soil. In fact it was a life-sized rag doll, presumably taken from one of the gardens that backed onto the railway lines here

-headed gull that you are most likely to see far inland. Indeed, many books make the point that it cannot really be called a ‘sea’ gull. These are the raucous white spots attentively following the tractor as it ploughs the dark lowland soil

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

it's not legal, but I'm not aware of anyone being prosecuted for it.I attended a wildlife gardening conference recently, where one of the speakers, Jan Miller, author of Gardening for Butterflies, Bees and other benificial insects gave a presentation

behind plant pots and at the back of the borders. She's much more inquisitive than the male, who is only interested in apples, turning leaves, pecking at soil and frightening birds. We've called them Sid and Nancy.So I will be taking part in this year

the perfect habitat because they're damp, while the compressed soil makes them ideal for overwintering (they love squeezing into cracks and tight spaces, apparently, so will even crawl beneath the bags). The fact that my grow bag has the additional shelter