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we'll need to back fill a bit more.We're going to have to put up a sign explaining that the pond will not have fish in it. It's a wildlife pond, and in my book fish and wildlife do not mix. And it's unlikely that frogs or toads will find their way

fascinating, but very obscure book called 'The balance of nature, and modern conditions of cultivation: a practical manual of animal foes and friends for the country gentleman, the farmer, the forester, the gardener and the sportsman', written by one George

and inquisitive children, eager to find out all about the wildlife they have found and held in their own hands. Their eyesight is so good, and they're all immensely proud of the often tiny specks of protoplasm which would be passed over in a blink by their parents

.But two days later I get a call that the beast has been seen, found, captured, and is awaiting my attention in a garden refuse bag in the Portakabin. So now our private menagerie has increased by one snake.Our scaly friend precisely illustrates, for me

Europe with planted shrubs. A friend of mine went looking for them through the dark streets of night-time Chelsea. He was exploiting a little-known fact that these and many other strange critters fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Using a small hand

attracted by mysterious chemical smells lingering on the glass and metal. I don't know what happened to the bees, but whilst I was photographing them I heard a woman speaking on her mobile phone to a friend who was obviously a beekeeper. Perhaps they are now

It's getting to that time of year when wasp behaviour changes. And as far as most people are concerned, it's a change for the worse. Since wasps don't have that many friends to start with, this is a yet further serious decline in their reputation

. It is not one of those gardener-friendly hoverflies lauded for its voracious aphid-hunting larvae. Instead, its large glutinous maggots chew away at the insides of daffodil bulbs; at best leaving a large open wound in the damaged and weakened bulb, at worst

have our very own artificial rot hole.That reminds me. I had a message from a friend a few days ago. She was asking about 'bees' living in the drain outside the kitchen window. Now, I wonder...

, or I can feign disinterest. I do feel sorry for those poor desperate souls who need to see them.One such unfortunate friend posted a parting remark on Sunday, on his Facebook page, that he was off to cruise the streets of West London until he found a