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The danger of frozen water pipes is on my mind during this freezing weather, but I'm also concerned that garden birds are suffering, too.Water in my bird bath quickly turns into a solid sheet of ice on cold nights, and hasn't been thawing out during

A bit of garden clearance in the rain is always therapeutic. Working off a good lunch and feeling the drip of water down my neck, I feel my endeavours are all the more noble. Actually all I'm doing is ripping the vine out of the apple tree it's been

Chris Beardshaw demonstrates how to remove blanket weed from a pond and offers advice on adding marginal plants and oxygenators to reduce excess nitrogen.summerMore water gardening advicePlanting marginals in a containerGrowing marginal pond plants

rectangular or square pond can still be wildlife friendly. Straight edges can easily be disguised with plants, both in and outside of the pond.To attract the widest range of wildlife, create areas of shallow water (around 2-3cm deep), which are essential

.So, when the kettle boils I make the 20 metre dash down the garden to melt the ice. A whole floating sheet often comes away completely, but occasionally the stubbornly thick ice needs a return visit with another kettle of boiling water to finish the job

stacked layers of old railway sleepers. It's not large, only 3.5 by 1.5 metres. And although it is over a metre deep in one corner, it shelves to nothing in another. Oh well, I'll just use the rest on the shed roof, where the roofing felt has ripped

I've been building, not so much a garden pond, as a playground pond. And the first problem with playgrounds is that they are all-over tarmac. The obvious site for Ivydale Primary School's new pond was a sunny, but extremely bleak corner next

Our tomatoes have not done very well this year, a combination of slow start and inadequate watering whilst we were away on holiday. But further down the street someone has done much better. They've obviously had a glut because a cardboard box

counted about 15, the same number we get every year, give or take. They're late this year; in 2007 it was May 2nd.Then it was newts, three of them paddling about at the bottom of the pond. They were easily visible against the new butyl liner I had to put

and cram into a large container. Weigh the nettles down with bricks, and submerge with water (store away from the house, to avoid the smell). Leave for three or four weeks then dilute for direct use (one part concentrate to 10 parts water).Nettle liquid