The Shrewd Gardener

For Clever Gardeners Everywhere

Do you really know what’s going on in your garden?

Today is beautifully sunny and bright. Ideal for pottering around the garden. I noticed yesterday that there are quite a few ladybirds (ladybugs, US) on the willow tunnel we built last year. They seem to be quite happy and I think they are going around eating the marauding insects that attack willows at this time [...]

Deed for the day: Helping a BumbleBee

Spring has finally arrived and so we were busy in the garden over the weekend. As the weather becomes finer we are starting to see more insect life, notably the BumbleBees as they come out of hibernation. It’s a fact that some do better than others and I was impressed to see a couple of [...]

What will you be doing in your garden this spring?

The chances are that your garden has been left unattended over the chilly winter. My own garden hasn’t had much attention since late November/early December when Christmas was looming large and so there were plenty of other distractions. The wet, snowy winter that set in at the beginning of the new year has slowed down [...]

Inner city Jay sighted in London

I saw a Jay in London and it stayed still long enough for me to look closely at it.

Unexpected find in the hedge.

We spent the morning trimming the mixed hedge in the front garden. It is a mix of Eleagnus, Holly and Buddleia. Not that unusual but what really surprised me was the number of Crickets we found. I’ve identified them as the Speckled Bush Cricket [Leptophytes punctatissima] and the only ones we found were the females. [...]

The RSPB: A spoonful of sugar could help our bees

Have you ever seen any tired looking bees in you garden. Well, the RSPB are suggesting that you help them with a little sugar water. Of course having plenty of nectar laden flowers in your garden would help too but this seems like an interesting idea. Why not give it a try next time you [...]

Save the Sparrow. You can start this weekend.

Save the Sparrow.

What lives in your garden?

How many birds come to your garden, how many beetles can you identify.. are there newts in your pond?

  • About

    This is where I blog about my interest in gardening and ecology. There is always something to do in the garden all year round and as we have an inner city garden the tasks are a little different to rural spaces.

    I work as a software developer now but a few years ago I had my own gardening design and construction business.

  • History

  • RSS What to do this week – The Guardian

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