How to create a mini pond
Even a small pond can be home to an interesting range of wildlife, including damsel and dragonflies, frogs and newts. Any pond can become a feeding ground for birds, hedgehogs and bats – the best…
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
My remedy
Elise has been coming to Potted Histories for four years. The activities help her overcome the pain that arthritis causes her, and to cope better with her diabetes because being outside makes her…
Brown trout
A fierce predator of small fish and flying insects, the brown trout is widespread in our freshwater rivers. It is has a golden body, flanked with pale-ringed, dark spots.
Bar-tailed godwit
The bar-tailed godwit winters in the UK in the thousands; look for it around estuaries like the Thames and Humber. In spring, the males display arresting breeding plumage, with brick-red heads,…
Weasel
Weasels may look adorable, but they make light work of eating voles, mice and birds! They are related to otters and stoats, which is obvious thanks to their long slender bodies and short legs.
Eyebright
Eyebright has small, white flowers with purple veins and yellow centres. It likes short grasslands, from clifftops to heaths, and is one of a number of species and hybrids that are hard to tell…
Ring-necked parakeet
The bright green ring-necked parakeet is an escapee and our only naturalised parrot; its success is likely due to warmer winters.
How to have an eco-christmas
Whether you celebrate a big family Christmas, or you just give out a few cards to your friends and neighbours to wish them a happy time, here are some quick tips for a greener Christmas!
Beautiful demoiselle
Beautiful demoiselles are, well, beautiful! Often confused for a dragonfly, these giants of the damselfly world are hard to miss with their metallic blue and green colours.
Buwch goch gota saith smotyn
Dyma un o’n buchod coch cota mwyaf cyffredin ac mae’r marciau coch a du ar y fuwch goch gota saith smotyn yn gyfarwydd iawn. Mae buchod coch cota’n ffrindiau da i arddwyr gan eu bod yn bwyta…
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…
Black-necked grebe
Known in America as the 'Eared Grebe' because of its golden ear tufts, the black-necked grebe is a rare nesting bird in the UK. It is easiest to spot around southern coasts in winter.…