Author Archives: wildlifegardening

About wildlifegardening

Jenny Steel was a Plant Ecologist at Oxford University before becoming a writer. She has more than 20 years experience of writing about and teaching ecology, natural history and wildlife gardening. She is also a photographer, journalist and former plant nursery owner, and a lecturer and tutor in adult education. She has appeared on a variety of radio and television programmes including Gardener’s World with Alan Titchmarsh, and she presented a series of items on the BBC 2 gardening show, How Does Your Garden Grow. She has worked with and written for a variety of organisations including the Royal Horticultural Society, Natural England, Atropos, Ernest Charles, the Adult Residential Colleges Association (ARCA), Haiths, Usborne Books, Complete Gardens, Oxfordshire County Council, the charity Growing Native and several of the Wildlife Trusts. She is also the Garden Bird Guru for the wild bird food company JustAddBirds of which she was a co-founder. The Emmy Award winning film company Panache Productions are currently making a film about her wildlife garden in South Shropshire. She has written 10 books on wildlife gardening. Her website can be found at www.wildlife-gardening.co.uk and her bird food company at www.JustAddBirds.co.uk

The Wildlife Garden in July

July is always a lovely month in my wildlife garden and this year was no different with spotted flycatchers nesting here this summer. I was able to watch these wonderful, charismatic little birds around the garden every day with one … Continue reading

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Moving on ………..

This blog has been moved to http://www.naturesgarden.co.uk

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Small, Elegant Birds…….

The weather is a bit hit and miss here in South Shropshire at the moment – sometimes mild and bright and sunny and the next moment there are flurries of snow and a raw, bitter wind. Yesterday was freezing and … Continue reading

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Nearly Spring……..

This is a time of year when my senses get a bit confused – I know it’s early January and there are probably at least two more months of winter to endure, but in my heart I feel it’s spring.  … Continue reading

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Wild Weather Visitors…..

Everything in my Shropshire garden over the last couple of weeks has been completely dominated by water.  Rain, flooding and saturated ground has made it difficult to do anything constructive outside and has severely restricted any travelling.  It has though … Continue reading

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Winter Visitors…..

The weather is considerably cooler here now and there is a real feel of autumn in the mornings with frost on the grass and a cold wind from the west.  This has meant the arrival of the winter thrushes, and … Continue reading

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Back home……

It’s holiday time, or at least it has been for the last two weeks, and I have been away in the wilds of Cornwall enjoying gardens very different from mine here in Shropshire, as well as catching up on some … Continue reading

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Happy sheep……….

September brings lots of work in the garden, and we have been cutting our meadows as well as storing vegetables and fruit, especially apples.  The poor summer weather has meant the apple crop is poor, but there are still enough … Continue reading

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Hungry Dragonflies…….

As the weather has warmed up (and it stopped raining!) in the last couple of weeks, the garden has been transformed.  Suddenly we have masses of dragonflies including four species of colourful hawkers, plus lots of ruddy darters and other … Continue reading

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Bunnies versus Vegetables…..

Although I appreciate all the wildlife we see in the garden here, there is the odd creature I would prefer not to have. Our previous garden in Oxfordshire was invaded by rabbits, and although we had carefully fenced them out, … Continue reading

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