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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

, leading to flooding. If every building had a green roof - be it an office block or garden bin store - much of this water would be absorbed before it even hit the ground.My shed has a tiny, steep roof, so we needed to make sure any soil that was added

, diving beetles, water boatmen, backswimmers and pond skaters may have their preferences too, and I would spend my days working out which one they favoured. Perhaps I would write about my findings from my office overlooking the ponds. (Clearly, I’ve put a

directly into the terraces, or into nearby fountains so that they could be easily watered by hand, although sometimes they didn't need watering at all. Also, these terraces helped prevent mountain erosion.From a wildlife gardening perspective, this style

with all the nutrients they need, and as the waste breaks down they'll get a fair amount of water too (saving me a job).My garden is far too small to grow pumpkins really, but I won't let that deter me. I'll drape the long, winding stems up and over

I am not to have any plants yet in my garden. While a thick layer of snow can insulate plants from extremely low temperatures, its weight can cause branches to break. Then frozen ground prevents roots from taking up water, and plants can die from

, 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

and scabious, against a backdrop of a green-roofed garden office and serene water pools.I also liked the SKYShades Garden, designed by Marney Hall. Her garden depicted a range of wildlife habitats, including hedgerow and woodland planting schemes

- David's were all eaten by slugs, while Tamsin's disappeared overnight (probably also eaten by slugs). Despite all the attention I lavished on mine, including extra watering and a weekly nettle feed, just two of the six made it above 2m (2.24m and 2.35m

plenty for the birds), took them home and dropped them in a glass of water. According to Dan, this simulates the process of the rosehip passing through a bird's stomach. (Honeysuckle berries are best sown fresh in autumn and the ivy berries were unripe