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and patches of bare wall, I noticed two seedlings growing at the back of the north-facing border: ivy. The decision to introduce it to my garden has been taken out of my hands - this shade-loving, fast growing, wildlife-friendly climber has found it all

, which have now been added to Pippa's blog. These are, starting from the top:1. Pupa of the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis.2. Larva and pupa of the harlequin ladybird. Both larvae and pupa are very much brighter and larger than other UK species.3

crab apple, hawthorn and potentilla, seem to be irresistible to our buzzing friends, as are the flowers of fennel, angelica and cow parsley, and sedums.Tubular-shaped flowers, such as foxgloves, snapdragons, penstemons and heathers, are also all

I'm just back from a weekend visiting an old friend in Banwell, near Weston-Super-Mare. Always envious of his rambling house and large walled garden, we got to talking over garden wildlife and the troubles of traipsing fox dung through the kitchen

and they then point it out to some of their friends. They gain a modicum of kudos from knowing a 'hawk' when they see one.Then it drifts away over the buildings and is gone. Well I never. I know it's a common bird, but I usually associate it with roadsides rather than

in daylight until nearly 10pm, I now find that it is dark outside whilst I sit at the laptop and do a bit of writing. Now, as I sit with the French windows wide open, it really is very dark out there, but every now and then I catch a glimpse of a pale shape

, deer numbers have been increasing almost unchecked, and we now have more of them in the UK than at any other time in the last 1000 years. I just wonder what sort of comments this post would attract if I suggested reintroducing wolves might be the answer

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

in the waste below.It's remarkable how much life a compost bin can attract. Books will tell you that a compost heap is one of the best garden features to attract wildlife but, somehow, this 'life' inside the bin can go unnoticed.We gardeners normally only

will generally follow suit. A bee-friendly garden should have a mix of nectar and pollen-rich flowers from March to November and somewhere to nest. There are six or seven (of 24) species of bumblebee that are likely to visit our gardens, each with different