• Of stags and sawyers - tales of very big beetles

    Adrian Thomas

    Out there in the natural world, there are some creatures we struggle to love (the list might include Rats, House Flies and leeches, for example) and those that command instant amazement.

    And slap bang in the latter category, I would claim, is this fella.

     

    There he was, broad daylight, in my new front garden, a Stag Beetle showing off his mightily impressive mandibles. You ought to have heard my whoops of delight! …

  • Helping garden wildlife in greatest need

    Adrian Thomas

    Over the last week I’ve had the pleasure of visiting two very different and wonderful gardens of people who are diligently and ambitiously giving nature a home.
    Having now led you (up the garden path, you might say) into thinking I’m about to divulge everything about my visits, I’m going to leave you dangling as they will feature in Nature’s Home magazine in due course.
    But I thought…

  • Bumblebee bonanza

    Adrian Thomas

    Once in a while I come across a plant that stuns me with its power to attract pollinating insects, and yesterday I found just such a marvel.

    It was this one (below), which has burst into flower in the last week in my new garden - and very happy about it I am too!

    It's a Deutzia, named after a 17th century Dutchman, a group of plants mostly from China and South East Asia. My assumption is that it is Deutzia 'Strawberry…