SMALL URBAN GARDEN

THINGS TO SPOT:

Butterflies! Brimstones, small tortoiseshell, comma and peacocks are all possibilities.

Dark-edged bee-fly. This is the perfect time to see this insect, which is sometimes mistaken for a bumblebee because of its furry body.

If you have a pond, look for frog spawn. Brilliant to watch and look out for tadpoles later on.

Starlings, house sparrows, great tits, right, and blue tits are among the many incredible birds that visit our gardens.

It’s the beginning of the breeding season so food and water will be much appreciated by birds.

Look out for amazing plants that grow in and around brick walls or through cracks in pavements. Good ones to look out for are ivy-leaved toadflax, hart’s tongue fern and maidenhair spleenwort.

Often the beauty in wildlife is just in noticing it and appreciating it. You can always take a picture and look online afterwards for identification.

THINGS TO DO:

Take a camera with you into the garden or on your daily walk. Take a photo of all the wildlife that you see and review it afterwards.

Leave dandelions to grow. They’re perfect early sources of nectar for bees.

Make a mini pond! It doesn’t have to be fancy. An old washing-up bowl sunk into the ground, with some stones to allow things to easily get in and out, can make a great habitat. Leave an area of your garden to grow wild. Don’t mow it and see what emerges.

Make a nectar bar for bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Lavender, thyme, rosemary, borage, foxglove and oxeye daisy are perfect for this. You can even make this in a window box or other small container – just choose one or two plants. Listen to different birdsong and try to identify. You can always record them using your phone and play them back later.