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this invasion to be extremely unfair.So what to do? Pesticides applied every spring and autumn will kill the larvae. But I worry that the active ingredient (thiacloprid - a nicotinoid compound related to imidacloprid) also kills bees and other wildlife (you can

flower beds, traffic islands and even motorway service stations. Some came to Hackney and planted up concrete troughs around the corner from where I live.In spring, the tulips will provide a dash of unexpected colour, as a cheerful surprise to passers

are continually on the move. I hope the BTO is able to keep an eye of all five of them over winter and track their return journeys to the UK in spring.In the meantime, we gardeners can take a few steps to ensure this autumn's hibernating butterflies, moths

is full. Hurry up spring. My compost bin fills up every winter. It’s a lovely wooden beehive type that looks perfect in our tiny garden. It’s sited against the south-facing wall and gets really hot and steamy in summer. The frogs love it and it’s full

I've had a great gardening year. It's hard to imagine my garden now as it was a year ago - a building site, with a huge pile of sand at one end and 200 paving stones and builders' rubble at the other. Then there was an awful lot of mud as we

something stupid like try and walk on water. The froglets must have found their way to my drain during the dry spell in spring and got stuck.Ponds can be incredibly dangerous places for children, but there are alternatives to just getting rid. My mum

of pots and still have some daffs, crocus and 200 mixed alliums to plant, I may invest in some aquatic baskets to plant the bulbs in. Once I've lifted the slabs I can dig a few holes and lower them into the ground. My spring bulbs will be none the wiser

, elderflowers, blackberries and cherries.I cycle to and from work along a canal towpath. It's a lovely way to travel, and I feel somehow part of the seasonal shift throughout the year. I know spring has arrived when I see the first dandelions push through

acquired a 'mixed bag' of salad leaves in a trough I filled with soil last summer to see what weeds I could 'catch'. So far there's some orache, clover and fat hen. Yum.Nothing says 'spring' like the first nettle soup of the year. A small clump of nettles

In 1985, Chris Baines created the first ever wildlife garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Apparently it caused quite a stir - wildflowers in those days were often dismissed as 'weeds' - and his medal was mistakenly inscribed "Chris Baines, for a