The house sparrow and the hedgehog have been added to the governments Biodiversity Action Plan priority protection list, which means that that they will disappear if we don’t have a plan to protect them. The decline in hedgehog numbers has been so severe they could be extinct in Britain in 25 years time. According to … More All the living things…not in my garden

To paraphrase John Lennon the slug has loomed large in my legend. Five years ago I wrote The Little Book of Slugs and ever since I’ve received endless enquiries about what to do about slugs if you don’t want to use chemical slug pellets. Yesterday I got a call from BBC Radio York following an … More Every living thing…The Slug

I’ve been thinking about my quest to record every living thing in my house and garden and wondering whether I should attempt this as a systematic sceintific project or just record encounters as and when they happen. Like the small white on my sofa. I’m reading Jennifer Owen’s monumental and entertaining study of her own … More Every living thing…

Following on from the butterfly on the sofa incident I can now reveal I’ve had a great tit in my conservatory. No sniggering please! My house is beginning to resemble the rhyme about the woman who swallowed a fly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a buzzard in my bathroom next. The great tit earns … More There’s a great tit in my conservatory

The British ethical consumer has another two labels to get used to: both promoting the idea of plant miles. Over 50% of our plants are imported so it’s good to know that efforts are being made to help the conscientious purchaser to make quick easy choices when they buy their plants. Buying local plants cuts … More A bunny on my phone and plant miles on my mind

I’ve been suffering from a cold for the last few days but tonight I’m cheered greatly by the site of a small white butterfly – on my sofa. It seems as sleepy as I am, which is quite right at this time of the evening. It also seems to have lost half of one antennae, … More A butterfly on my sofa

If you’ve got ten minutes to spare find out the basics of organic gardening on http://www.newconsumer.com/nctv. There’s a link to their site from my links page. You’ll see me going through principles of soil care, composting and pest control at Garden Organic’s garden at Ryton. If you’re near the Centre for Alternative Technology today (Saturday … More Organic Basics on TV and Dragonflies at CAT

Sometimes the strangest things happen. The evening was fairly warm last night. I had the windows open. I was listening to the new cd of the amazing Borth choir Cor y Gors. I came from the kitchen into the lounge and was startled to see a beautiful red headed woman with a young child in … More Borth choir

Phew. I’ve just about finished my book so I’m back with you. Lots of things have also happened whilst I’ve been away. My sister got married! We had a great day and I was able to fulfill my promise to buy her and her husband a sustainable wedding gift. I commissioned my friend artist writer … More Phew!