Wildlife friendly garden update

I made this insect house yesterday. It's an old terracotta wine bottle cooler, stuffed with hollow twigs and canes of various diameters, wedged into the forsythia about 60cm off the ground above the log pile and pond. (An old 2 litre water bottle would work just as well but I think the terracotta is more aesthetic.) I'm hoping that lacewings, ladybirds and possibly solitary bees will like it and make it their home for the winter.

I think it's safe to say that using peat-free compost has been a success as my Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Physallis have grown as well this year as they did last year: I just wish is was easier to got hold of supplies. And I still haven't been able to source a peat-free seed and cutting compost either so once I'd run out of leaf mould I had to resort to JI No. 1.

There is no doubt that bees love my garden but my attempt to attract a wider variety of butterflies has failed miserably. As I don't grow brassicas the whites are always welcome but it would be nice to have some of the prettier ones too. That said, I do have some lovely little day flying moths so I guess I'll have to be satisfied with them.

The wildlife pond, after a promising start, has also been a disappointment. Yes, there are frogs in the garden, I see the odd one and find their droppings everywhere, but little else seems to have taken up residence and the pond plants have been pretty unspectacular too: the Caltha palustris died; Veronica beccabunga only flowered for a very short time; and I've had no flowers/seed heads on the Typha minima.

To end on an upbeat Mr and Mrs wood pigeon still visit at least twice a day and other birds are using the feeders although I rarely see them. And something is nesting in the Ivy - possibly blackbirds, although I've only heard noises so far.

Georgie