Summertime in the garden and we’re almost losing the veg plot, but in a beautiful way! The bees, butterflies and pollinating insects are loving it and there are still some ornamental edibles in there if you look closely! 😎🌼🐝 #summertime #organicgardening #savethebees #savetheinsects #savethewildbees #wildgarden #wildlifegarden

Humming bird hawkmoth, busily sipping nectar from Verbena bonariensis. #hummingbirdhawkmoth #verbenabonariensis #organicgardening #gardensforwildlife #wildlifegarden #pollinators

Feeling very proud of our daughter Phoebe, today after being awarded a Silver medal at RHS Tatton Park flower show, for her Long border design. It’s all about encouraging more pollinators into our gardens and creating habitats for them. The border is covered on Gardeners’ World this evening by Francis Tophill. 😎🌼🐝 #rhstattonflowershow #rhstattonpark #pollinators #gloucesteruniversity #landscapearchitecture #organicgardening #savetheinsects #prenplants #peatfreecompost #peatfree #wyevalenurseries #gardenersworld

It was a wonderful surprise to find this bee orchid growing in a client’s wild border last week. I had moved it to a safe spot in the border to save it from the lawn mower, without fully knowing what it was at the time, as only the first leaves were showing but looked orchid like! #beeorchid #wildgarden #wildgardening #organicgardening #wildyourgarden

On an early morning walk in my local woods, counting singing nightingales and listening out for the elusive turtle dove. I heard a rustling noise in the undergrowth, crouched down and saw this pair of tiny roe deer fawns, with a nightingale singing in the background. Their mother, who wasn’t far away, sensed my presence and barking a warning guided them away into the safety of the woods. Pure natural magic!

A toad in a hole! Toads are active at night, when they hunt for a variety of invertebrates including slugs, spiders, worms, aphids and ants. They sneak up on prey and use their sticky tongues to catch it. #commontoad #britishwildlife #springwatch #wildlife #wildlifegarden #organic #organicgardening

Creating a micro vegetable garden and froggery.

A tree paeony in full flower. Spring seems very early this year! #paeony #spring #springflowers #gardening

Bluebells peaking in the woodland garden. This must be the most perfect time of year! #bluebells #woodland #woodlandgarden #wildgardening #organicgardening #westsussex

Preparing the cut flower and vegetable garden for the year ahead, starting with the sweet peas and potatoes. #walledgarden #organic #organicgardening #grow #growyourown

Snail cleaning the poly tunnel #snail #smashingpumpkins #organic #organicgardening

Thom and Jonny. The Smile. Brighton 2024 #thesmile #thomyorke #jonnygreenwood

Merry Christmas! 🎄

I love the contrast of the golden, yellow leaves against the dark trunks of lime trees (Tilia cordata) in the autumn sunshine. A brief but beautiful display!#autumn #autumncolour #tiliacordata #woodlandgarden

I found this little creature in my garden riddle earlier this week. I wasn’t sure what it was , but someone said that it is a Drilus flavescens, which is a quite a rare beetle in the UK apparently. I think this is a late stage larvae, on the move and maybe looking for a snail to consume. The adult male looks like a beetle, whereas the female looks more like a caterpillar. An extreme case of sexual dimorphism!

It’s tomato time! #homegrown #growyourown #organicfood #homegrowntastesbetter #homegrowntomatoes #organicgardening

Roesel’s bush cricket down at the allotment!

A friendly Roesel’s bush cricket that I found in my van, hitching a ride! I released him down at my allotment and hopefully will be serenaded by his chirping in the evening. Apparently when it’s stridulating it sounds just like a Savi’s warbler! #roeselsbushcricket #organicgardening #wildgardening biodiversity #sussexwildlifetrust #sussexwildlife

Adding some natural, woven hazel screening to a wildlife friendly garden, that I designed and built a couple of years ago. The garden is maturing nicely, with frogs, many birds and insects enjoying this small space, along with the owners. Raised oak sleeper planters, next to the patio, are used for growing vegetables and are within easy access from the house. #wildlifegarden #wildlifepond #naturegarden #growyourown #wildgardening #biodiversegarden #organicgardening

We’re going purple in the garden at the moment! #purplecauliflower #purplecabbage #organic #organicgardening #purplehaze

Walking along the South Downs above Lewes this weekend towards Mt Caburn, there were hundreds of butterflies feeding on patches of thistles. Lots of Red admirals, Painted Ladies, Small tortoiseshells, Peacocks and several of these beautiful Dark green fritillaries seen here with a red tailed bumblebee. It was a wonderful experience, with skylarks singing all around, along with meadow pipits and corn buntings. #southdowns #darkgreenfritillary #redtailedbumblebee #skylarks #butterflies #britishwildlife

A purple hairstreak butterfly at the allotment yesterday. It’s the first one that I have seen here in at least 15years of having the plot. Maybe it’s the plants that I’ve got growing or maybe it followed me from my recent camping experience at the Knepp estate, which is about 3 miles away 🤔By allowing areas of our gardens and allotments to grow a little bit wild, we can create vital wildlife corridors that connect isolated populations of wildlife #purplehairstreakbutterfly #butterflies #allotmentlife #wildgardening #operationwallacea #kneppwildland #wealdtowavesproject

Bees and butterflies in the garden today. I’m not sure what the first bee is, but the butterfly is a ringlet and a buff tailed bumblebee (I think) on a flowering leek. #pollinators #butterflies #ringletbutterfly #britishbees #wildgardening

There’s so much going on in our gardens at this time of year, from pyramidal orchids and birds foot trefoil, in lawns, to beneficial aphid munching ladybirds and their larvae on the broad beans. Lots of pollinators are buzzing around now that the weather has warmed up and on the West Sussex downs, glow worms can be found. By leaving a few so called garden weeds, we can help to improve biodiversity and create wildlife corridors. #wildgarden #naturegarden #wealddowndlandscheme #wistonestate #glowworms #wildorchid

I had the honour of being fed on by a Purple Emperor butterfly this week at Knepp. Apparently they are particularly attracted to foul smelling objects, which must say something about the state of my trousers after a week camping out and learning how to carry out wildlife surveys in the summer heat! #knepp #purpleemperorbutterfly #nature #wildlife #nature

End of a fantastic week at Knepp, camping out with Operation Wallacea and a selection of moths from the moth trap. No moth was harmed.

It’s good to look out for the little things in the garden. I was excited to find this glow worm larvae, while I was weeding around a garden pond last week. The larvae feed on snails and pupate into adult glow worms in June/ July. #glowwormlarvae #glowworm #wildgardening #organicgardening

A walk through the woodland garden in May, with a cuckoo calling and bluebells in full bloom.

Mayday! Nightingales in full song having just returned to the Cowfold stream, after a long flight from Africa. I counted about 7 singing males here in a small pocket of blackthorn thicket; their preferred habitat, which is now under threat from the cable route for the Rampion 2 offshore wind farm. Renewable energy is no doubt the way forward, but the proposed 50 metre wide cable route will run through water meadows that have been uncultivated for decades. Blackthorn scrub takes around 15 years to regenerate. The Rampion 2 proposals are not going to be good for the local environment! #rampion2 #rampionwindfarm #nightingale #blackthorn #cowfoldvrampion

Sounds of spring in the woodland garden. Chiff-chaff wren, great spotted woodpecker, sparrows and crow join the chorus. Happy Easter! 🕊️

Victoria plum blossom growing alongside shrub roses with their new reddish/ orange leaves. #plumblossom #spring #organicgardening #walledgarden

Planting out sweet pea plants that were sown in the autumn, with homegrown hazel supports. #sweetpea #spring #organicgardening #nodig #nodiggardening #hazeltwigs

The swallows are back in Southwater after a long winter break in Africa!

The swallows are back in Southwater after their long winter break in Africa! Look carefully and turn up the volume for this! 😎

Preparing the vegetable garden for the coming year. Maximum mulch, minimum dig! #organic #organicgardening #vegetablegarden #nodiggarden #mulch

Signs of spring in the garden pond this morning. The frogs are getting frisky! Frogspawn on the way hopefully 🐸#frogs #springintheair #spring #nature #wildgardening #wildlifegarden #organicgardenig #wildgardendesign

The sun is out the sky is blue and the garden is ‘waking up’ after the cold winter weather. We’re probably not out of the woods yet, but spring is definitely just around the corner. This beneficial hoverfly is enjoying a sip of nectar from the fragrant Mahonia flowers, which fill the garden with their delicious scent. The larvae of the hoverfly will feed on aphids, which suck the sap of the nearby climbing roses. Loveit! #spring #hoverfly #mahonia #wildgardening #nature #organicgardening

Wassailing in the JB cider orchard with the Broadwood Morris on a moonlit January evening.

Wassailing at the White horse in Maplehurst, West Sussex and in the JB cider orchard on a beautiful moonlit evening.

A frosty sunrise over the lavender field. #julietsargeant #winterinthegarden #frost #snowyday #sunrise

A hot, spicy cup of homemade, homegrown butternut squash soup on a cold wintery, but beautifully sunny day, with a sprig of chervil garnish. What could better? Thanks @ladyrae8 in the kitchen 😎 🎃 #winterinthegarden #butternutsquashsoup #organicgardening #winter #snowyday

Moonrise over the lavender field #coldmoon #winter #lavenderfields #moonrise

The tender plants are indoors and cosy for the winter! #winterscoming #organicgardening #winterinthegarden #lemons #growyourown #pineapplesage #hardygeranium #scentedgeranium #aloevera

Homegrown winter vegetables. No matter what the time of year, with a little bit of planning, there's always something beautiful and tasty in the garden. #winterveggies #organicgardening #wintervegetables #colourfulkitchengarden #wildgardening #growyourownfood #growyourown #allotmentgarden #homegrownisbest

There's still a lot of colour in the garden, but it is definitely time to move tender plants indoors now, such as my lemon tree, as the weather is eventually getting colder. #jobsfortheweekend #lemontree #frost #organicgardening #winterscoming

There is still lots of colour down at the allotment and it's almost November! The bees are making the most of the pollen from the cosmos and dahlias, but it is worrying all the same! #globalwarming #autumn #autumncolours #autumncolors #savethebees #organicgardening #savetheplanet #savemotherearth #allotment #cosmos

Juicing apples this weekend 🍻

Shiitake mushrooms grown on an oak log. These mushrooms were set into an oak log in 2018, using shiitake mushroom dowels. #shiitake #growyourownfood #growyourown #organicgardening #mushrooms

Bumblebees on a sunflower! #bumblebee #bumblebee🐝 #wildgardening #organicgardening #wildgardendesign #naturalgarden #bees #sunflower

The Comma butterfly caterpillar that I found in a bucket at the allotment, has now formed a chrysalis! I thought it looked a bit of an unusual shape. The old caterpillar skin is in the top right hand side and the chrysalis is attached to the bucket by strands of webbing at the top. #commabutterfly #caterpillar #butterflies #chrysalis #wildgardening #organicgardening #savebutterflies #wildlife #wildingbritain #allotmentgarden #allotment @savebutterflies

From a fistful of figs and a funky looking cauliflower, to a fabulous gluten free pizza created in the kitchen by the multi talented @ladyrae8 #glutenfree #organicgardening #figs #brownturkeyfigs #cauliflower #homegrownveggies #homegrown #cauliflowerpizza

Comma butterfly caterpillar found at my allotment today, in a bucket! The caterpillars feed on nettles and resemble a bird poo to deter predators! #commabutterfly #commacaterpillar #caterpillar #butterflies #organicgardening #savebutterflies #wildlife #rewildingbritain #wildlifegarden @savebutterflies

Moonrise over the channel #beach #beautifulevening #moon #moonrise #britishbeaches #beachcleanup #takeyourlitterhome

Fantastic figs! At least the recent hot weather has brought on a bumper crop of brown turkey figs! #figs #brownturkeyfigs #organicgardening #organic #wildgardening

This orchid is growing in a shady woodland border in one of the gardens that I maintain. I think it is a helleborine of some sort? #helleborine #helleborineorchid #wildgardening #organicgardening #wildgardendesign #naturalgarden #woodlandgarden

Down at the allotment counting butterflies for the #bigbutterflycount2022. This painted lady butterfly particularly enjoyed the Eupatorium purpureum (Sweet Joe Pye) as did small tortoiseshell, commas and gatekeeper butterflies. @savebutterflies #bigbutterflycount #paintedladybutterfly #sweetjoepyeweed #eupatorium #organicgardening #allotmentgarden #allotment #wildgardening #allotmentlife

A beautiful sunny morning in a sunflower field, just down the lane from our allotment. The farmer has grown a field of sunflowers with an under planting of red clover and it looks amazing as well as attracting loads of bees and other pollinating insects. He has opened the field this morning for locals to cut their own flowers, with all the proceeds going to help the people of Ukraine. Fantastic! #sunflowers #sunflowerfield #bees #helpukraine #helppollinators

Morning glory and californian poppies at the allotment this morning. #summer #allotmentgarden #organicgardening #organic #summerflowers

A beautiful cluster of caterpillars on nettles in the sunshine, by the compost heaps. I think they are small tortoiseshell butterfly caterpillars. It is important to have nettles that are in the sun for butterflies to lay their eggs on. #caterpillar #smalltortoiseshell #smalltortoiseshellbutterfly #nettles #butterflies #wildgardening #organicgardening #savebutterflies #wildlife #wildingbritain #gardening #gardenforwildlife

Midsummer's day in the walled garden. It's a busy time getting the last plants in the ground, watering, weeding, dead heading, tying in climbers, but it will be worth it and I look forward to relaxing and just enjoying being amongst the plants. #delphinium #cottagegarden #midsummer #wildgardening #organicgardening #wildgardendesign #bees

We watched this female Wool Carder bee collect fluff from the stems of Lychnis coronaria in or back garden at the weekend. She carries the fluff away to line her nest. #woolcarderbee #wildgardening #organicgardening #wildgardendesign #bees #springwatch #gardening #gardenforwildlife #nature #sharetheloveofnature

The wildlife pond in a small nature friendly garden that I designed, just months after it was finished last autumn. Already it is attracting frogs, newts, lots of invertebrates and birds. It has a pebble beach so hedgehogs and small creatures can access the water safely. My client even says that he had a fleeting visit to the garden by a purple emperor butterfly, which could have flown in from the nearby Knepp Estate, or maybe the wildlife from there is beginning to colonise the surrounding area. This shows the importance of even small wildlife friendly gardens and how they can become part of a huge network of wildlife corridors, which is essential for the future conservation of our natural environment. #wildlifepond #wildgardening #organicgardening #savebutterflies #wildlife #rewildingbritain #rewilding #purpleemperor #knepprewildingproject

Blue lupins contrasting nicely with euphorbia oblongata in the walled garden #lupins #euphorbia #gardening #walledgarden #sarahravenseeds #organicgardening

Our front garden looks very pink and fluffy this time of year! The bees, butterflies and moths love it! Soon the lavender will join the party 🐝🦋🎉 #wildgardening #organicgardening #wildgardendesign #rewilding #almostrewildyourgarden #butterflies #moths #gardening #gardenforwildlife

It's a leisurely approach to gardening, from the comfort of a hammock, demonstrated here by my teenage son. 😎 #hammock #organicgardening #organic #organicfood #growyourownfood #growyourown #wildgardening #allotmentgarden #downtheallotment

The New Blue Peter Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022. It's all about the soil and encouraging people, especially children, to learn about the vital importance of it. I have had the privilege of helping Juliet Sargeant and her team to create the garden, which will be relocated to RHS Bridgewater in Salford this autumn, where it will be used for educational purposes. I believe entry is free to Blue Peter badge holders, with an accompanying grown-up! You can vote for the garden in the people's choice award if you like it at bbc.co.uk voting closes at 7pm today (26,5,2022) #BluePeter #chelseaflowershow2022 #soil #projectgivingback @julietsargeant @rhs #rhs

It's a trip to the wildlife hospital for this little hedgehog after work today. I found him lying in the sun in the garden, which is usually not a good sign with hedgehogs. On their advice I took him in and he appears to have a bad leg. Hopefully they can fix him and he will be returned back to the garden, to eat more slugs and snails! Jane at the wildlife hospital is so dedicated to saving all kinds of birds and injured animals. #rangerslodgewildlifehospital #hedgehog #ukwildlife #wildgardening #organicgardening #organic #nature

Radishes and salad coming on nicely in the poly tunnel at work. #radish #homegrown #homegrownveggies #spring2022 #organic #organicfood #growyourownfood #growyourown

A view from the Rhizotron roof garden meadow at the Chelsea flower show build up. Happy to be helping Juliet Sargeant and her team to create the New Blue Peter Garden at Chelsea Flower show 2022. #julietsargeant #chelseaflowershow #wildgardening #gardenlink #newbluepetergarden #rooftopgarden #rhizotron

Happy Beltane from the allotment! Time to crack open a bottle of cider made using apples from the allotment, as the cuckoo is calling and the nightingale singing 🎶 #spring2022 #allotmentgarden #organicgardening #savebutterflies #nature #wildgardening #nightingale #nestcollective #cuckoo #cider

The mistletoe is flowering for the first time, since I introduced some seeds to our apple tree about four or five years ago! Normally they are spread by mistle thrushes. The flowers are tiny, about a millimetre in diameter. #mistletoe #parasiticplant #appletree #mistlethrush

Frogspawn in our pond this weekend! #frog #frogspawn #spring2022 #wildgardening #nature #organicgardening #wildlifepond

Signs of Spring! #spring #spring2022 #crocus #springflowers #gardeningforwildlife #nature #garden #geoffhuntgardendesign

Hedgehog fungus. #fungi #autumn #ukfungi

Awesome acer! #autumncolours #acerpalmatum #autumn #naturephotography #autumnvibes

Teasels in the mist this morning at a recently rewilded garden that I designed and planted for a client. The garden was planted this spring and already has attracted a myriad of insects, bees, butterflies and birds. Some of the wildflower areas will be cut back to suppress the vigorous grasses, but other areas will be left over winter to provide food and shelter for birds and insects. Goldfinches in particular will love these teasels. #rewilding #rewildingbritain #nature #wildgardening #organicgardening #savebutterflies #wildlife #teasel

A Wall butterfly 🦋 Sheltering from the wind on this blustery July day, drinking nectar and hopefully pollinating the melon flowers in the poly tunnel today. #butterfly #wallbutterfly #nature #wildgardening #organicgardening #savebutterflies #wildlife

The wildlife pond is just about completed and planted up and as I was trimming the liner back I found a tiny toad, the first amphibian visitor! It's amazing how quickly wildlife can find a new pond. #wildgardening #wildgardendesign #wildlifepond #nature #ukwildlife #babytoad

I found a chrysalis on the patio at home back in the Spring, when I was having a tidy up and yesterday it hatched out into this beautiful Elephant Hawk-moth. The caterpillars eat rosebay willow herb and fuchsia leaves and the adult moths can live for a few weeks. #elephanthawkmoth #nature #wildgardening #organicgardening #savebutterflies #savemotherearth #moths #britishmoths #naturegallery #naturelovers

Peacock butterfly caterpillars are munching their way through a patch of stinging nettles in one of the gardens that I look after. #peacockbutterfly #nature #peacockbutterflycaterpillar #caterpillar #nettles #gardeningforwildlife #wildgardening #savebutterflies

Amanita pantherina, commonly known as the Panther cap or false blusher. This poisonous fungi must think that it's Autumn! #amanita #panthercap #fungiphotography #fungi #nature #wildgardening

Nightingale singing in the morning 12th of June 2021 #nightingale #nature #rewildingbritain #rewilding #nestfolk

Nightingale singing at the allotment this afternoon #nightingale #nature #allotment #organicgardening #organic #birdsong

Wild daffodils growing in an old meadow in West Sussex. #ancientmeadow #daffodils #wildflowermeadow #springflowers #nature #wildgardening

Primroses and daffodils in the nuttery in the Spring sunshine #springflowers #primrose #woodlandgarden #daffodils #nature #organicgardening #naturelovers #wildgardening

Andrena bee covered in crocus pollen. It's Spring! #andrenabee #bee #solitarybees #crocus #woodlandgarden #springflowers #nature #wildgardening

Almond blossom in the Spring sunshine #almondblossom #organicgardening #organic #blossom #spring #springflowers #nature #wildgardening

Common spotted orchid emerging from it's winter slumber #orchid #woodlandgarden #springflowers #organicgardening #woodlandgarden #woodland #wildgardening

The tiny flower of the hazelnut tree, bursting from the tip of a bare twig, waiting for pollen from the catkins #hazelnut #spring #springflowers #nature #wildgardening #organicgardening

Snowdrops. Spring is on the way! #spring #snowdrops #woodlandgarden #springflowers

Winter harvest #organic #homegrown #homegrownveggies #growyourownfood #growyourown #organicgardening

Orange peel fungus - Aleuria aurantia Growing by the side of the lane by our allotment #fungi #orangepeelfungus #winter #nature #woodlandfungi #winterwatch

Watching the sunset over Amberley Castle on the shortest day of the year. Solstice greetings to all. Wishing everyone a better year ☀️

White helvella fungus, helvella crisp or elfin saddle, as it's cap looks a bit like a small saddle! Not worth eating as it can cause stomach upsets and is possibly carcinogenic!! #helvella #helvellacrispa #fungi #autumn #autumnvibes

A beautiful autumn afternoon at the Hannah Peschar sculpture garden in Surrey. Wonderful piece of sculpture by Nimrod Messeg, Inca. #hannapescharsculpturegarden #gardenart #gardensculpture #nimrodmesseg #sculpture #sculptures #sculpturegarden #woodland #woodlandgarden

Warm colours on a cold Autumn evening at the allotment. #dahlias #autumn #autumnvibes🍁 #autumncolours #allotmentgarden #groworganic

After a bit of a cold wet day working in the garden, what could be better than cottage pie with freshly picked home grown runner beans? A bit later than normal, but it hasn't been a normal year! Homegrown mashed potato topping, of course, and a dash of fiery chilli ketchup! #cottagepie #runnerbeans #comfortfood #organicgardening #organicfood #growyourownfood #grow #growyourown #organic #organicfood #organicveggies

Apple pressing at home in the garden on a sunny late summer afternoon! It looks a bit dark, but hopefully it should clear! #apple #appleproducts #applepress #organicfood #growityourself #growyourownfood #cider

Late summer harvest #fromthegarden #organicgardening #summer2020 #summerharvest #growityourself #gardening #growyourownfood #dahlia