With the key to the garden door now in my possession, I made my first proper foray into the garden this week. For some time before taking on this garden, I’d had my eye on the big compost heap against the north facing wall. Whilst it is hidden from the big house, I can see it from the kitchen window... Read more..

Before saying anything about the toad, I was interested to note that several people have told me that they’ve seen bee flies about since I wrote about them last week and some said that they’d thought, at first, that they were seeing actual bees, rather than a mimic. I’ve been looking out for them and... Read more..

In the part of the garden nearest the house, there is a sheltered passageway leading from the front gate to the garden itself. This area has stayed relatively unfrozen. I say relatively because it still gets frozen, just not as much as the rest of the garden. Walking along it, I looked down at the soil... Read more..

The long dry spell has broken in Oxfordshire. From the 30th of March to the 25th of May, I didn’t have to put my waterproofs on once, but we have finally had a couple of days of proper rain. During that time of dryness, many birds have come to gardens to make use of the fresh water put down for drinking... Read more..

This mild winter is a good time for looking at the activity of earthworms . The soil is moist and our lawns are a mass of worm casts, a mix of worm excrement and soil. The number of small coiled piles of worm casts tell us that there is indeed a great deal going on under the surface and it’s interesting... Read more..

It seemed that as soon as I mentioned the mild winter weather being good for watching the activities of worms, half the country turned white with frost, sending the worms deeper into the soil. Thankfully, it’s warmed up and the worms are active again. After reading some more about earthworm middens,... Read more..

There is a corner at the end of the garden where we’d like to grow a few vegetables – it is sunny and warm but, for a couple of reasons, the soil needed some major work on it. Firstly, I have wondered if the previous occupants here ever added any organic matter to the soil; it seems a bit thin and stony... Read more..