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and Their Haunts by the Rev. C.A. Johns, was published in 1862 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, on the back of his success with Flowers of the Field (1851). Both books were in print for over a century, and it's easy to see why.To start, Johns

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

. Such is the persistence of this pernicious weed that I could never, however, feel safe from it. This triffid is widespread in southern London and despite Railtrack's best efforts, it still lines some of the railway embankments from Peckham towards Victoria. One of my

evidence that guerrilla gardening threatens wildlife biodiversity: "wildlife haven brownfield sites are just not the kind of places guerrilla gardeners attack. Typical starting points are compacted mud, inconsequential rye grass and very common weeds

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

't look too unruly or unkempt.The rhubarb is just about breaking the surface, and the beds I recently dug over are not overrun with weeds. So I can spend a gentle couple of hours doing a little bit of pottering, and afterwards feel smug that things

(Joe-pye weed)Useful websites for wildlife gardeningGardeners' World wildlife blogsMake a bee hotelMore plants for beesWildlife gardening tipsButterfly Conservation Trust

or germinate into weeds. Buying better quality food means healthier birds, less mess and fewer rodents.We're getting to that point in the year when energy-rich food makes all the difference to small birds surviving winter. There's much less natural food

wildlife, they can be made into great plant food and are a surprisingly versatile ingredient in the kitchen.The nettle we're used to in the UK is Urtica dioica, a perennial plant full of iron, calcium, magnesium and nitrogen, which makes it incredibly