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We didn't have a pond when I was growing up. I always wanted one, but blew it after trying to walk on water once at Notcutts. I was hauled out and sent home wearing a bin bag, which put paid to any attempts at having a pond at home until many years

'.I dug my mum her first pond 10 years ago, and although several frogs are often found sheltering in the water, and it's home to a gregarious family of smooth newts, we've never seen evidence of any breeding.The pond (now known as the 'deep pond') is too

photosynthesising, gases can build up and kill the frogs.To prevent winterkill you need to create a hole in the ice so noxious gasses can leave the water. I shouldn't need to do so this year, as two feral pigeons have taken to having a daily bath in my pond. I

certainly in trouble and will need help. Pick the hedgehog up using an old towel or a pair of thick gardening gloves. Keep it warm by placing it on a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel, in a high-sided box lined with newspaper, and then place another towel

of hot water on the surface, allowing the base of the pan to melt a hole. Then leave a plastic ball in the hole overnight, and remove it the following morning when the pond surface has refrozen. This enables noxious gases to leave the pond. ARC also warns

woodpeckers, witnessed blackbirds and robins fighting over territory, and sat a little too close to a wasps' nest.It's generally a very good habitat for wildlife: there's a mass of ivy to provide food and shelter for all manner of creatures, and something

managed agriculture, either. But these 'pests' form an important part of the food chain and many species of bird and bat rely on them. Sadly, a common way of dealing with ants is to pour boiling water over the nest. I wonder how many ant mating rituals

again, I’ve been dreaming about a big, leafy, watery garden. But why three ponds? Well, they would be of different sizes and depths, and therefore attract a wide range of wildlife. I would dig a large, deep pond, a medium-sized pond and a small, shallow

, where birds such as sparrows can hunt for caterpillars and garden pests. A clean bird bath provides them with water to drink and clean their feathers (which enables them to insulate themselves against the cold).There’s nothing like that in my garden

at the edge of the water in total darkness with bats swirling around me.Like so much of our wildlife, bats are having a hard time. This is mostly due to the widespread use of pesticides in agriculture. British bats feed exclusively on insects, so spraying