My muse
Mark suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia, meaning that in bustling areas the voices he can hear become overwhelming. They are his muses, but can get overpowering. When he’s outside in the garden,…
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
My reward
Carole has been volunteering at Idle Valley for seven years now; whilst she used to get involved with the heavy work out on the reserve, the garden is now her domain, working with the Recovery…
My bigger picture
Acclaimed underwater photographer Paul Naylor has been diving and capturing images of life in the waters around the British coast for years, with over 2,000 dives to his name. He knows the impact…
My timeout
Jessica-Jane Applegate MBE is a Paralympic and World Champion swimmer. She spends so much time training and rushing around from one venue to another, her favourite place is her garden. Here she…
My homecoming
Juliet Sargeant was first inspired by nature as a child: when she’s working, her mind often wanders back to playing in the woods with her friends.
She left a career in medicine to train as…
Wild privet
Wild privet is a shrub of hedgerows, woodlands and scrub, but is also a popular garden-hedge plant. It has white flowers in summer and matt-black berries in winter that are very poisonous.
Common comfrey
The drooping, tubular, pink flowers of Common comfrey are a familiar sight to many gardeners. Sometimes considered a 'weed', this hairy plant can be used as an organic fertiliser and a…
How to build a pond
A wildlife pond is one of the single best features for attracting new wildlife to the garden.
How to build a bug mansion
Build your own bug mansion and attract a multitude of creepy crawlies to your garden.
How to do companion planting
Grow plants that help each other! Maximise your garden for you and for wildlife using this planting technique.
How to build a hedgehog home
By providing safe places for hedgehogs to live, you’re much more likely to see these prickly creatures in your garden.
How to make a bee hotel
Solitary bees are important pollinators and a gardener’s friend. Help them by building a bee hotel for your home or garden and watch them buzz happily about their business.