I have one every year as I'm asthmatic. This year though, my GP's surgery are struggling to get any vaccine. So much for vaccinating everyone- they can't do anyone... Sorry to hear that, IM. It doesn't seem to be a problem in Scotland. GP surgeries are not responsible for it this year, the flu jab ...

It is possible to create a wildflower meadow without removing the sod though it might take a few years to become fully established. It also means you shouldn’t cut the grass so can be a bit unsightly at first. It is done by broadcasting the seed of yellow rattle which parasitic on grass and severely...

Too true bym. And LadyA a patchwork of different mini habitats is better than a huge area all the same, unless you’re trying to conserve orangutans of course. If everyone with a bit of land did it the wildlife of the British Isles would be in a much better position. Lawns might give a source of worm...

Thanks Marigold. I’ve pre ordered it from Amazon. Sounds like he ‘gets it’.

No opinions on what you should do with the poly tunnel but I love the sound of your field. Sounds like a wildlife paradise. Is it a closed canopy or do you have lots of woodland flower too?

It was written by Robert MacFarlane, Marigold. Of the eight poems I’ve displayed two are by him, two by Norman MacKaig, one by Ted Hughes and two that I can’t attribute. I had them printed on all weather, aluminium signs by Vistaprint. A poetry wall? Inspired by everything from sculpture parks to Ba...

Believe me the darkness of winter is not a problem. It’s the three weeks of light ie no night in mid summer which is a struggle here. Really messes with your circadian rhythms. Brings out some really strange aspects of human behaviour!

:-)12 Pretentious, I know, but down my drive is a long fence on which I have created a poetry wall. None are my feeble efforts. Here is one called Wren. ***** When wren whirrs from stone to furze the world around her slows for wren is quick, so quick she blurs the air through which she flows, yes- R...

We’ve recently talked about our contempt for twitchers but commonplace birds can be breathtaking. Big flocks of starlings at roosting time, gannets diving for fish, a shag perched on a rock in bad weather - all can transfix you.

I panic bought yesterday - two boxes of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. Can’t live without those.