frogs

Frog Blog

In the garden yesterday, there were at least six frogs in the pond, and two more on the concrete outside the pond, hearing the croaking above them in the pond, but not knowing how to get to it. We have what we call a frog ladder, a ribbed piece of wood, slanting from ground to pond rim, but I have …

gardening group around the pond

Sunshine and Frogspawn

In the shelter, it is warm and sunny. The walls are transparent plastic as is the roof. It is about 15 degrees outside but considerably warmer in the shelter. The extra warmth is due to the greenhouse effect. Not global warming this time, but due to its original meaning: the extra heat gained in a glass (or clear plastic) enclosure. …

earthworm

Earthworm

Three Cheers for Earthworms! There are 29 different species of earthworms in the UK. Of these, 16 can be found in  British gardens, varying greatly in size and colour. Charles Darwin was keen on worms, and thought few other animals played so important a part in the history of the world, which is quite a claim. He studied them for …

Catkins – Sunday 16th Feb, 2024

Signs of Spring It’s cold today but spring is on the way. Tulips and daffodils are coming up around the garden. Not flowering as yet. The euphorbia by the side wooden fence has its hardly noticeable green flowers. They have a long season, so they will be noticed. The kerria by the Dare to Dream stage has its small yellow …

the Co-op street planter in Forest Gate

Street planters – Monday 3rd February, 2025

[This is the closing speech by Fiona Leckenby to People Powered Places at the Gate on 22 January 2025. Fiona is the Garden’s outreach worker but has also cares for local street planters over the year. Derek] Save our Street Planters came out of a real sadness about the state of the planters around our area. My aim was to …

shadow of a bird in the garden

Light in the Garden – Sunday 4th January, 2025

Our garden depends on light for growth, for it to be seen at all, and for its colours. We are now converting sunlight energy into electricity with our solar panels. Light is either particles (photons) or a wave. Which is confusing as how can anything take two forms? But this is the realm of the sub atomic and they do …