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and family.Collect leaves as they fall to make leaf-mould Leave out sunflower seed heads for the birds to feed onCollect up all watering kit to store in the shedAround the gardenTake cuttings of your favourite rosesTidy borders by cutting down perennials past

that it's stopped and I've dried out - horribly dismal. And what's more it stopped me heading up to the plot for a good clear up session after the frosts.You see I love a good tidy up! The frost will have turned everything that was still attempting to grow

Last year I wrote about autumn tidying and the effect this can have on wildlife. I left my garden untouched over winter, leaving hibernating creatures snuggled under a duvet of fallen leaves and rotting stems. None of my plants died or were ravaged

. Architects, it seems, aspire to build tidy well-groomed, low-maintenance houses. And we, presumably, aspire to live in them. Notice how green it all is. Not brown. Green. But this is a wildlife desert. The wild life has been erased.The greenwashing

and tidy. Live willow whips, 2m longSecateursGarden twineNovember - February2 hoursCut about 30cm off each end of the whips. Take two whips and tie them together at one end (butt to tip).Wind the whips around each other and tie them securely at the other

. This will again cause sideshoots to grow and the plants can be given a final shaping and tidy up if necessary in early autumn. Box topiary, secateurs, sheep-hand shears, large scissors or garden shearsMay - August 20 minutes for each plantUse secateurs scissors

during the day making collection easy. Sink shallow cups of beer or milk in borders, setting them slightly above soil level - you don't want ground beetles falling in as they are a natural predator of slugs. Keep your garden tidy, slugs love to hide under

with orange-brown pustules on the under-surface. Plants may lose their leaves as a result of heavy infestation and rust pustules may be seen on stems. Check plants regularly and remove infected leaves by hand. Tidy up any infected fallen leaves to prevent re

hat and socks were de rigueur for the appropriately attired allotmenteer. And, admittedly a week later than scheduled, the great tidy up began.As I predicted, everything had been turned to mush by the previous frosts; courgette plants, squashes, beans

the garden as an excuse for providing shelter and hibernation hotels for wildlife. Who can argue with that? It's true that many insects and creepy crawlies, frogs, toads and other wildlife do need a place to shelter, and a pristine, tidy garden provides few