麻豆社

If you鈥檙e planning a holiday in Barbados in the near future, the amazing sinkhole garden Frances Tophill went to see is open to visitors. For more details, check out the link below.

Hunte's Gardens
Castle Grant
St Joseph
Barbados

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Chris Baines has inspired a whole generation of gardeners to attract more wildlife to their garden. Here are his top tips on how to succeed.

Step 1: Provide a reliable water source. If you have room for a pond, that鈥檚 perfect. It will provide a habitat for pretty wildflowers such as brooklime, water forget-me-not and marsh marigold, along with a watering hole for hedgehogs and a place for frogs and newts, dragonflies and other wetland creatures to breed. Even a small dish of clean water or a bubble fountain can be a lifesaver for birds in winter.

Step 2: Green up the boundaries. Even the smallest garden should have room for a few climbers over a wall or fence. If you have space, plant a hedge or a few shrubs in your border. Green boundaries help to link the wider neighbourhood together and the vegetation will provide safe nesting sites for common garden birds such as wrens, blackbirds and robins.

Step 3: Choose plants that will provide food from January to December. A garden can be a really important service station for wildlife if there is a continuous source of nectar for insects the whole year round, along with plenty of fruit and berries for birds and mammals over the winter.

Step 4: Boost the choice of safe hiding places. Nest boxes will really make a difference, but try to provide bat boxes and bee hotels too. The more the merrier!

Step 5: Relax! Don鈥檛 be too neat and tidy. Piles of fallen leaves and rotting logs in quiet corners will provide hiding places and somewhere to hibernate for more timid creatures.

Step 6: Make sure you have a seat in the garden, so you can make the most of the wildlife on your doorstep. You never know what might turn up!

(www.wildlifetrusts.org)