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Easy design tips to help you create a beautiful garden

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Light, soil and what you want from your outdoor space are all important, says an expert.
As we look outside, urging winter to turn into spring, now is a good time to plan your garden, whether you just want a few changes or a complete makeover.

Garden design doesn’t need to be super complicated, because with some simple guidelines you could soon be relishing your outdoor space, says award-winning garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson, author of How To Design A Garden, who has 400,000 Instagram followers and is host of The Ins & Outs podcast.

“One of the biggest mistakes people make is not spending enough time getting to know the garden,” she says. The light, border depth, soil and shape will all make a difference.

Here, she offers some design tips to help you get the most from your outdoor space.

Make your garden look wider

“If you have a long narrow garden, the worst thing you can do is run narrow borders down the side next to a strip of lawn because it’s going to turn it into a runway and highlight that it’s long and thin,” says Wilkinson.

Instead, feature your highlights across the garden by planting into it and a deep border at the back which brings your depth of field forward. If you have paving immediately outside the house, bring plants up to that paving across the garden, she suggests. You could then create a gap through to a lawn, or position a path and planting in the middle of the garden as a focal point.

“We’re trying to get you to move your eyes left and right, not down to the end. The trick is to bring the plants in.”

Plant deep borders

Make your flower borders as deep as possible because if they are under 60cm, you’ll only get one row of plants, which can feel accidental, she advises.

“Ensure you can get at least two or three rows of plants, in which will give you a much more interesting garden in terms of seasonality, but will also give you more depth even in a smaller space.”

Use large pots

“In courtyards or small gardens, get rid of your small pots because anything small in a small space feels like clutter. You’re much better off going with one or three really generous pots, I’m talking waist-high,” she suggests. “They can be narrow but if they are waist-high they feel intentional.

“And don’t shy away from putting small trees into small spaces. For urban gardens we use a lot of cornus, crab apples and Amelanchier lamarckii.”

Check the light

“Look at the light in the garden, which is something people can forget,” she advises.

“Focus on where the light falls at different times of day, because that is going to tell you what you can plant, as plants have different light needs.”

The light will also have a bearing on where you will want to sit, she notes.

“Some people like to sit out in the sun in the middle of the day. A lot of people might prefer to sit in the shade. Also think about it at different times of the day. We may want to have somewhere for a morning coffee that’s east-facing and a more comfortable area, like a sofa or bench, that is west-facing for evening sun or cocktails.”

Consider how you want to use your space

“How do you want to use your space and what’s realistic for your lifestyle?

“It depends on where you are in life. If you’ve got young kids or pets, you’re going to use your garden in quite a different way to if you’re older or don’t have kids yet, and you’re using it to entertain or to actually garden,” she observes.

Make a list about what you want and what you can realistically do with the time available, Wilkinson suggests.

In small spaces…

“Be strict with yourself, because if you’ve got a small space, it’s more limited as to what you can do.

“Do one or two things really well. Maybe don’t have a dining table outside. If you’ve got your kitchen right next to the house, you can still eat inside with the doors open.

“Instead, have something comfier, like a sofa or chairs out there, so that you’ve got more versatile space.”

Look at landscaping

“A mistake a lot of people make is to put the patio right by the house and nothing else, so you’ve got this hardscape by the house. We try to find at least one extra place in the garden which is a destination away from the house.

“We can all be guilty of sitting near the house, looking at the garden, rather than being in the garden. You could have a seating area at the end of the garden.

“It might just be on gravel, a few slabs or even on grass, but you could be on a bench in the garden that enjoys sun at a different time of day, or tucked away under a really beautiful tree.”

Repeat-plant

Repeat plant and cluster, always with perennials and also with shrubs, she suggests.

Repeat plants such as clumps of salvias at intervals down a border, spaced between one and two metres apart depending on the size of your border, in clusters of odd numbers (such as three or five), using fewer species but repeating at intervals, to create a fluid scheme.

Hide your shed

If you can’t move your shed to a spot where it is out of the eyeline of your main windows, put it to the back of the garden and plant hedging in front of it, which creates a fake boundary. You may want to also plant other things in front of the hedge.

Remember the seasons

Create a spreadsheet or list of plants you like which will suit each season. Don’t forget winter structure or autumn colours, she says. You want the garden to be interesting year-round, not just in summer.

How To Design A Garden by Pollyanna Wilkinson is published by DK on February 6, priced £22.

4 sustainable investments you should be considering for 2025

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Here’s how to future-proof your home to conserve resources, says Sam Wylie-Harris.

As far as projects go, building a sustainable home and reducing your carbon footprint is something many homeowners are considering – after all, creating a greener environment makes for a brighter future.

The only obstacle, depending on your budget, is the expense. “With the current cost of living, what investments to make may not be top of mind,” observes Simon Bones, founder and CEO of Genous, one of the UK’s premier retrofit firms who specialise in improving the energy and efficiency of existing buildings.

“But those with some investable cash may be thinking about what they can do to generate good returns – and save energy costs while also doing some good for the environment,” notes Bones.

Moreover, sustainable investing doesn’t need to mean sacrificing returns. As he points out, investing in your home’s sustainability can for most, save money and reduce emissions. “And make your home more comfortable, too.”

To put you on the front foot, Bones shares his top four recommendations…

1. Upgrade your home’s insulation

The best place to start on reducing your energy usage is to use less of it, underlines Bones. “Improved insulation can reduce bills, slow the speed at which your home cools, and make some of the other investments below easier.

“If you have cavity walls, this is normally the best place to start as the returns tend to be highest, though it needs a specialist to do the work.”

Loft insulation is also a great idea, says Bones, particularly if you have 75mm of insulation or less. “And can be done for you, or you can do it yourself – though ventilation requirements mean getting an expert is best, unless you know what you’re doing,” he highlights.

“A typical house loft top-up might cost £1,500, and cavity wall insulation closer to £2,000, and both can be done with little disruption…. these are some of the cheaper upgrades you can do to your home, but can make significant savings on your fuel bills.”

Bones continues: “It’s also possible to receive government help with the cost of insulating your home, depending on your age and whether you’re receiving certain benefits.”

Sites such as Entitled To will be able to flag if you can access any grants.

2. Install solar panels

“Solar panels – for electricity, not solar thermal – are much cheaper now than they used to be,” says Bones. “And allow you to generate your own green electricity.”

What’s more, provided you get an MCS installation, your energy supplier should also pay you for the electricity you don’t use, notes Bones. “If you don’t live in a conservation area and aren’t listed, you don’t normally need planning permission – though you should check.”

And if you ever have scaffolding up for your roof, he says it’s a great time to get panels as the scaffolding cost is often a material part of the bill.

“Solar installation costs start from around £5,000 and go up depending on how many panels you install, and if you want a battery – which doesn’t tend to be necessary but can suit some people.”

3. Consider zonal heating controls

In larger properties in particular, you may be heating rooms you don’t need, or at times you don’t need to…

“Many homes now have thermostatic radiator valves, which are good, but the next step up is to consider automated or ‘smart’ zonal controls, where the radiators adjust upon demand,” says Bones.

Take care if you’re going for a heat pump, though, as the controls can be slightly different. “These can also be controlled by smart home devices, meaning you can turn rooms on and off as needed without being in your property.

“A real win when the weather suddenly changes and you can turn things off, rather than waiting until you’re home to lower the thermostat.”

4. Go for a heat pump

“Heat pumps slash your emissions and can reduce your bills, depending on what model you put in and what your current heating system is,” advises Bones.

“Again, always get qualified advice, but especially if you heat your home with direct electric or LPG, the savings could be considerable – you can even save against oil or mains gas if you do it right.

“There’s now a £7,500 subsidy available if you’re upgrading a non-green heating system, so there’s never been a better time to turn your back on fossil fuels and count the savings,” urges Bones.

Where possible, he says the real key is to combine a couple of updates together. “This will help deliver the largest return on your initial investment – and help to really lower your carbon emissions.”

Caroline Quentin: Being an actor and a gardener is not a happy combination

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Caroline Quentin Gardening McCarthy Holden

The Men Behaving Badly and Life Begins star, who recently appeared in Sky sci-fi series The Lazarus Project, also offers a wealth of advice and tips to her 150k followers on Instagram (@cqgardens).

Her husband, Sam, does much of the filming when she invites followers into her home near Tiverton in Devon, where she makes all sorts of dishes from ingredients she has grown, and shows us what she’s up to in her two-acre garden – which features an orchard, pond, greenhouse, raised vegetable beds and a flower garden, where the magic takes place..

Caroline Quentin Gardening McCarthy Holden

Now, Quentin has written – and illustrated – a new book, Drawn To The Garden. It’s part memoir, part guide, with chapters on seeds, salads, fruit and veg, water, herbs, pets and pests, memories and anecdotes meandering through each section.

Her garden, she says, is “not immaculate”. Weeds haven’t taken over, but she allows some buttercups and daisies to encourage bees.

“By my nature, I’m quite a chaotic person, so I don’t need things to be immaculate, but my vegetables are in a rotational system. I’ll mow a path through the grass rather than cut all the grass. I garden organically.”

The book also features a chapter on wellbeing, an important element to Quentin, whose mother suffered from bipolar disorder and spent periods in a psychiatric hospital, she recalls in the book.

When she was allowed to visit, she’d spend time in the hospital gardens, surrounded by marguerites, which she still loves.

“I genuinely believe that growing things, watching the birds, smelling the roses, eating the green stuff and drawing and painting, all help keep me this side of sanity and one step away from the big dark house on the hill,” she writes.

Here, she tells us more…

Caroline Quentin Gardening McCarthy Holden

How much has gardening benefited your mental health?

“I consider it responsible for my wellbeing. I am by nature someone who goes up and down. I have mood swings, I get low. And if I do feel low, the first thing I turn to is my garden, or if I can’t be near my garden, the nearest open space or natural environment.”

Did you always have access to a garden?

“As a little girl, we had a long strip of suburban terraced house lawn. It was not really a gardening space. Nobody in my house was particularly interested in gardening.

“I wouldn’t say I was a gardener when I was young but at primary school, I’d put a seed on a bit of blotting paper or a bulb in a jam jar with water underneath and it was fascinating. The whole optimism about growing things is always a good thing.”

What was your garden in Devon like when you first moved there?

“It was a derelict property, with just a field and a trickle of stream at the bottom. There was no garden. That was about 17 years ago.

“I put the pond in first because I knew when you put water into a garden, nature comes, and that was what I was most interested in. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done with a garden. I swim in it too.”

How do you juggle your acting career with looking after the garden?

“You tend to film in the summer months, and gardening obviously happens a lot in the summer months as well. So I tend to be in the greenhouse in January, February and March, getting everything ready, sowing my seeds, getting the garden ready, and then suddenly the phone will ring and I’ll need to be away from the garden when everything needs to go in and be planted out. Being an actor and a gardener is not really a happy combination. The time balance is somehow wrong.

“I’m filming two dramas this year. I do get homesick. I’m really bad at being away from home, which is weird given that I do it for 90% of my life. But it’s a small price to pay for what has been a very enjoyable career.”

Do you have help?

“Sam will water for me, but he’s not a gardener. Anthony (her gardener) has helped me over the years. He comes in for a morning a week.”

Caroline Quentin Gardening McCarthy Holden

How do you maintain your wellbeing in the garden?

“I hug trees, I talk to trees, I spend as much time as I can in woodland. They call it forest bathing. It’s a deeply rooted human thing to want to be in the shade or dappled light of a tree on a summer’s day.

“I don’t formally meditate, but I do have a process where I try to breathe well when I’m outside if I’m feeling stressed or trying to learn some lines and they’re not going in, or there’s too much to do. I do a little bit of yoga every day. In the summer, I can do that outside and get my breathing organised to just slow my heart rate down and breathe in some good air.”

What’s next?

“I’m planning to downsize and start a new garden (in Devon). My children (Will and Rose) have left home and we have a big house and big plot of land. I’m getting older and maybe it’s time for me to start thinking about a garden for someone in their 60s. I want to make my next garden as well, I don’t want to inherit one. At the moment I’m fixated on having bees. So I’m thinking of an orchard with bees in it, and possibly some wildflowers.”

What will you take from your old garden to your new garden?

“Probably water. What’s brought me the most joy is watching swallows over the pond on a summer’s evening. I would definitely grow apples again and I would have maybe three or four raised beds, and a greenhouse or potting shed.”

Drawn To The Garden by Caroline Quentin is published by Frances Lincoln on February 15, priced £20.

Caroline Quentin Gardening McCarthy Holden

Why you shouldn’t tidy your garden too much in autumn

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AUTUMN GARDEN

By Hannah Stephenson, PA

It’s time for the great autumn clear-up in your garden, when furniture and tools are put away, leaves are raked and perennials cut back. But experts are advising gardeners not to tidy up too much.

Some of your debris could be left to provide food and shelter for overwintering insects, birds and mammals, so before you start raking, clearing away prunings and starting that autumn bonfire, spare a thought for our native wildlife.

Pile up your leaves

“Hibernating mammals, such as hedgehogs, frogs or toads will use leaf piles to create a nest where they will stay throughout winter, while insects and invertebrates will love the dark, damp nooks and crannies that it has to offer,” Eric Michels, head of pro at CJ Wildlife advises.

“In turn, this will encourage birds such as robins and sparrows to visit your garden to forage for worms and bugs in the leaf layer.

“Simply gather the leaves and dead organic matter from your garden or outdoor space and arrange them in a pile – don’t worry if your pile looks rustic, as long as it is large enough to allow wildlife to burrow within the materials, animals will love it!

“If you have any logs or fallen branches, place these next to the leaf pile to provide additional shelter and security, and make sure it is located in a quiet corner of the garden where visitors can stay undisturbed throughout winter. Come springtime, remember to check leaf piles for any animals before moving or mulching.”

 

AUTUMN GARDEN

Leave seedheads

At this time of year, you may be tempted to chop down all your spent perennials, but leave seedheads on plants such as rudbeckia, echinacea, teasels and helenium, because they will provide food for the birds, the RSPB advises.

Stems can also hold insect larvae and eggs, and shield the soil from the winter elements, the charity adds.

Let wildlife shelter in log piles

“Broken twigs and old logs make an ideal shelter for many species, the rotting wood and brittle bark create cosy gaps for insects to hide in, while offering mammals a dry and secure habitat over the winter,” says Michels.

“Log piles also provide birds and amphibians with a source of food, as they search the debris for any insects which might be lurking inside.

“It’s important to keep the log pile in a quiet and sheltered part of the garden, as many species won’t stay if it is too noisy or there is too much activity nearby. A variation of small twigs and large logs creates the best shelter and larger logs can be wedged into the soil so they stay damp.”

Bring insect hotels indoors

“Insect hotels are a great way to offer bugs refuge through the summer, but many people don’t know that they should be kept in dry places over the winter months, like in the shed. This helps keep the hotels dry and in good condition, it also helps prevent fungal infections for bees that might be nesting inside,” says Michels.

“Do not be tempted to bring the insect hotel into the house though – the warmth of our homes might encourage bees to emerge from their nest early. The insect hotel can be placed back into the garden around March once the weather is warmer.”

AUTUMN GARDEN

Avoid bonfires

You may want to burn your garden debris, but bonfire sites, which are often set up a few days in advance, provide a hedgehog hideaway for hibernation as well as shelter for amphibians and reptiles.

So if you really have to build it beforehand, surround it with newt fencing and make sure there’s no hedgehog sheltering in it before you start, advises campaign group Hedgehog Street.

Let ivy grow

It can be the bane of a gardener’s life, but ivy is an essential food source for birds and provides shelter for insects and bats in the autumn and winter months, says The Woodland Trust.

If you leave ivy to do its thing, its autumn flowers provide a haven to butterflies such as red admiral and moths, while it will produce calorie-rich berries in November which will attract song thrush, redwing and blackbird among others, as well as shelter for brimstone butterflies and small bats.

Wildlife presenter Kate Humble on what really makes a house a home

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KATE HUMBLE MCCARTHY HOLDEN NEWS ITEM

What makes a house a home? Is it the building itself, the possessions inside, the people that live there, the location or community?

It’s probably all of these to some degree, says Kate Humble, who delved into the topic for her new book, Where The Hearth Is – sparked by the TV presenter’s own quest to understand why a London Victorian terraced property she thought would be her ‘dream home’ never really felt like it, but the Welsh farmhouse she later moved to did.

“Before I moved to Wales, my husband and I had bought a derelict house in London. We spent 18 months sleeping on kind friends’ sofas, giving everything we earned to the builders to try and make it un-derelict and create what we thought was going to be our absolutely perfect house, with a lovely kitchen, all our bookshelves and pictures on the walls, and all the elements we believed would make it the perfect, happy home,” explains Humble, 54.

“And what was really odd and actually rather distressing was the day we moved in and unpacked, we thought that instantly it would be home. It wasn’t. And it never felt like home, and I couldn’t work out what we’d done wrong.”

She repainted walls, moved pictures, furniture and even walls in a bid to fix the issue: “I drove my husband completely mad. For the whole seven years we were there, I basically battled to try and make this house a home.”

She eventually realised the problem wasn’t so much the house, but the location. “The reason that poor house was never going to be home was that I wanted it to make me believe London was home, and it couldn’t do that.”

mccarthy holden news item Kate Humble book

Humble’s TV career has always focused on the countryside and nature, with shows like Springwatch and Countryfile, and for a long time she’d harboured a desire to live in rural Wales.

“I was never a city girl, I was brought up in the countryside,” she explains. “I had for quite a long time wanted to be back in the country, but because of my job, doing things like Springwatch, lots of wildlife programmes and programmes that took me out into the countryside, I could manage coming back to London. But it just ceased to feel like home.

“I had this weird, inexplicable – and I still haven’t worked out why this was the case – longing to live in Wales, even though I have no family history in Wales or heritage, and I hadn’t even really been on holiday there. I didn’t really have a connection. But for some inexplicable reason, I really, really wanted to live in Wales.”

Then, “completely out of the blue” in 2007, Humble’s TV producer husband Ludo was offered a job in Cardiff. “It was like fate was intervening.”

The couple bought an old stone farmhouse with four acres of land in the Wye Valley. “As soon as I got there, I knew I had found my home,” she recalls. “There are many elements of that, but I think it was instant because I was back in the countryside, and those were my roots, even though it wasn’t geographically where I’d grown up, I had grown up in a rural area – and I was back in a rural area and suddenly I felt like I belonged again.”

Yet although Humble, her husband and their dogs have lived happily in the farmhouse in Wales for the last 16 years, running the Humble by Nature working farm and rural skills centre nearby, they may still not be in their ‘forever home’ – which is what sparked the idea for the book.

“For a long time, I’ve wanted to build a house of my own,” she reveals. “I’ve got the design in my head – I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of creating the place that I end up living.

“But the thing that worries me is, I might build this house one day that I think is perfect – but what will it be that turns it from a building I’ve imagined in my head, a physical thing, into the nebulous but nonetheless essential thing that makes it a home? What will shift it from simply being a building with furniture and a bed, into the place where you feel safe and secure and at home? What do I need to do to make sure that I don’t repeat the experience I had in London?”

Humble was so worried about this, she wrote long lists of the sort of people that might be able to give her insight into what makes a house a home. “I started off by thinking that would help me build a thesis, a kind of Humble theory of what makes a home, if you like.”

She spoke to many people, compiling stories for the book – ranging from brother and sister Willie and Ruby Brown, both in their late 70s, whose home (a 150-year-old family stone croft on the west coast of Shetland, where they’d been born and raised) was struck by lightning and destroyed, to a Syrian woman who lost not just her home in the war, “but her community, her culture, her language, everything she knew”, explains Humble.

“She had to start from scratch, trying to make a home in a country that wasn’t hers, and the thing she said made the UK feel like home was the kindness of people.

“What I learned was home doesn’t stop or start when you walk into the front door – it’s more than that,” Humble adds. “And for a lot of people – and I would include myself in this – community is really important, what’s around you, what do you look out at through your window?

“Of course, there’d be things that all of us, if they were lost through fire, flood or whatever, we’d probably mourn. But ultimately, possessions are ephemeral – one day they’ll fade, fall apart, or get lost. Whereas the people in your life are the fabric of your home. When I walk around my house and think what would I grab if the house was on fire, I think, well I’d grab my husband and my dogs,” Humble reflects.

“What I discovered is what makes a home is incredibly personal and individual to each person. But if you have a place you can genuinely call home, where you feel safe and secure and it’s your refuge, actually, you’re very lucky.

“Through talking to all these people and putting this book together, I realised how precious home is.”

Where The Hearth Is: Stories Of Home by Kate Humble is published by Aster, priced £22. Available now.

mccarthy holden news item Kate Humble book

Save money by planting your own summer salad box

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How to grow your own summer salads. By Sam Wylie-Harris.

If the idea of foraging for fresh food fills you with joy, how about going one step further and building a salad with ingredients you’ve grown yourself?

“Growing your own fruit and vegetables is becoming increasingly popular, with more people discovering the many benefits of producing your own food,” says Daniel Carruthers, of Cultivar Greenhouses.

Not only can growing from seed be cost-effective, you’ll hopefully end up with an abundance of fresh food – even when shops are low on stock.

Want to try and grow your own salads? Here’s how to get started…

What to plant

“If I had to name one crop I could always grow, eat, and sell, it would have to be salad crops,” says Jane Scotter, a Herefordshire biodynamic farmer (fernverrow.com), who grows seasonal vegetables, fruit and herbs for some of London’s top restaurants.

“A high-value crop, much sought-after by restaurant customers and individuals alike,” notes Scotter, who has also just launched her first online gardening course with Create Academy.

She says the flavour of the leaves, picked just before eating, is far superior to anything one can buy. “Eaten fresh captures the zest and essence of flavour, and texture of the tender leaves.”

Varieties of salad leaves

There are lots of varieties of salad leaves you can grow. “For spring, I like the hot zing of the mustards, such as mizuna, mibuna, purple frills and golden frills,” says Scotter.

These are all from the brassica family, and are quick to germinate and fast to grow.

“I find rocket to be rather overrated as a salad leaf, except when grown in the spring and autumn, while the days are warmer, but nights are still cool,” she adds.

Scotter says the flavour is much fuller, the leaves more robust and altogether quite different from summer-grown rocket, which she finds thin in both flavour and substance.

Fruits of the vine

“Tomatoes are a firm favourite in most salads and, with shortages in many supermarkets at the moment, it’s a great time to start growing your own,” suggests Carruthers.

With so many varieties to choose from, he suggests popular types such as Brandywine tomatoes, known for their large, beefsteak-shaped fruit and delicious taste, and Tigerella – “an old faithful, which has a beautiful red and orange striped skin”.

Carruthers continues: “Cucumbers are a perfect summer fruit, adding a refreshing crunch to salads. There are almost 100 different varieties, so choosing which ones to grow can be a minefield.”

Picolino and Cucumber Goblin are smaller than more popular varieties, but they provide higher yields throughout the season – ideal for keeping your salads going over the summer, he adds.

How to plant salad seeds

Direct sow the seeds into clean, weed-free soil, says Scotter.

“They’re not hungry feeders, so lots of fertility is not a big issue. If you don’t have a garden, fill a container or wooden box (with holes in the bottom for drainage) with organic compost. Fill the box at least 20cm deep with the fine soil. Pat down firmly and evenly.

“Then make a small trench, about 2cm deep and 4cm wide, using your finger or a round-ended tool, the thickness of a marker pen,” she adds. “Aim to have seeds about 1-2cm apart. Don’t worry about being too exact, but try not over sow, as plants will grow small and not as healthily.”

Cover with soil carefully and pat down firmly. She says to water with a watering can rose at first, otherwise seeds will not be evenly moistened, plus they may float away if water is added in a heavy-handed way.

“If these are started early to mid-March, you should see germination within 10 days. Sow at least four lines. Keep the soil moist but not soggy, and in a sunny spot outside. Your salad leaves should be ready for their first harvest within three weeks,” says Scotter.

“The varieties I’ve mentioned are cut-and-come-again crops – meaning you can cut at least four times from the same plant, before the leaves begin to get tough and lose flavour.”

How much to plant

“As a rough guide, a metre-length strip of mustard leaves will produce about 500g over three weeks. So, if you sowed four different varieties that would be two kilos,” says Scotter.

“I would expect to serve two people about 150g a serving. And when you consider the shop-bought mixes are around £30 kilo, you’re not only eating the best – but at a good price, too.”

What festive food scraps can you give to birds?

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Nuts, Christmas cake and roast potatoes could all go in the mix, experts say. By Hannah Stephenson.

When we’re all tucking into our Christmas dinner, spare a thought for the birds.

Winter is a time when food is more scarce for our feathered friends, so serve them up Christmas leftovers to give them the extra calories to stay warm.

Helen Moffat of the RSPB (rspb.org.uk) recommends offering birds the following Christmas fare to give them a winter feast…

Potatoes: Roast, baked or mashed spuds will provide a festive feast for lots of garden birds.

Unsalted bacon rind: If you’re making pigs in blankets and have some rind leftover, chop it up so it’s good for birds of all sizes – but make sure it’s unsalted.

Pastry: Either uncooked or cooked, and especially if it’s been made with real fat.

Christmas cake: Birds love dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas and currants. Song thrushes, blackbirds and robins will flock to Christmas cake, but be careful if you have pets, as it can be harmful to cats and dogs.

Cheese: If you have some mild cheese left over from a cheeseboard, grate it and put it out. It will be a big hit – especially with robins and dunnocks, who really appreciate the extra calories as nighttime temperatures drop.

Fruit: Any leftover or bruised apples or pears can be chopped up and put out to be enjoyed by tits and starlings, or even some of our visiting migratory birds such as redwings.

Thomas Hibbert of The Wildlife Trusts (wildlifetrusts.org) also says unsalted nuts will be a hit with the birds.

“They should be put into a metal mesh-style feeder so birds can break chunks off, rather than taking whole peanuts (though choking is more of a hazard when they’re feeding young in spring),” he advises.

“Great spotted woodpeckers, blue, great, and coal tits, and nuthatches will feed on them. Coal tits and nuthatches will hoard peanuts.”

Beware that poor quality peanuts sold for birds can contain a fungal toxin that is dangerous to birds, he adds.

Leftovers NOT to be given to birds

Anything with salt: Birds can’t metabolise salt, it’s toxic to them – so don’t put out any salty foods or food covered in gravy.

Cooking fat: People often mistakenly think all fat is good for birds, but this type definitely isn’t. Leftover fat from your roast can smear on to birds’ feathers and ruin their waterproofing and insulating qualities. Better to save it for a stock. Avoid anything cooked and covered in oil, as this can become smeared on their feathers and damage their waterproofing, the RSPB recommends.

Cooked porridge oats: Uncooked, they’re fine, but once cooked they’re glutinous and sticky and prone to gumming up beaks.

Milk: Birds can’t digest milk – it can make them seriously ill.

How to serve up

Either pop food onto bird tables directly, or places you frequently see your local birds, such as fence posts, the RSPB recommends. Avoid the ground, as it can attract rodents.

Alternatively, you could use the leftovers to make homemade fat balls. Always use pure hard fats such as suet or lard – never oil.

You could even make a Christmas wreath for birds, twisting bundles of long twigs together and fastening them with wire onto a ring. Squash lard into a soft paste in a bowl, mixing breadcrumbs and bird seed into it, smear it over pine cones and decorate with dried fruits and nuts, before securing to cones to the ring with twisted wire. Then decorate the ring with festive greenery and hang it up on a tree.

Wash up before and afterwards

If you are putting nuts or other leftovers in bird feeders, remember to clean them, says Hibbert.

“Dirty bird feeders spread diseases. Clean feeders outside, in a bucket of cold or warm soapy water and rinse well before hanging back up. We recommend wearing rubber gloves. Special bird feeder cleaning disinfectant is also available.”

George Clarke on slashing energy bills, and making homes warm, safe and green

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Architect and TV presenter George Clarke offers his tips on heating and protecting homes, and keeping costs down where possible.

Architect and TV presenter George Clarke is an expert on creating stunning and sustainable homes. But there’s so much more to a dream home than it just being green and good-looking, he insists.

We should never forget the fundamentals of homes, he stresses – they need to be warm, comfortable, and safe.

Clarke, the presenter of shows including George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and Old House New Home, says: “Obviously, it’s all about saving energy and reducing bills at the moment, and part of that is being sustainable for the planet. But there’s also something that people don’t talk about enough, and that’s being comfortable and warm and protected in your house. That feels great.”

Here are Clarke’s tips for keeping sustainably warm and safe in your home – and saving money where you can…

Insulation is key

Clarke stresses that insulation is the best thing to keep your house warm. “Make sure your loft’s really well insulated, and get rid of draughts,” he advises. “I still go into people’s houses and I cannot believe how draughty some of them are – they haven’t put draught excluders on doors or keyholes. On a windy day, the wind that comes through a keyhole is unbelievable.”

As well as getting rid of gaps around windows and doors, and insulating the loft, Clarke says wall insulation is definitely worth considering too.

He says his company installs a lot of dry lining, where internal surfaces are clad with plasterboard to provide an extra layer of insulation. “You’re literally building two or three inches of insulation on the interior of your house,” he explains. “You’ve got to be careful about how destructive it is to the house, because taking three inches off every wall makes every room feel a little bit smaller. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but my God, the difference it makes is unbelievable.”

Keen to practice what he preaches, Clarke has had his own home in London dry lined, as well as having it triple-glazed. “I’ve gone the full hog with ecological upgrades,” he says proudly.

Replace your boiler with a heat pump

Clarke has also changed his gas boiler for an air source heat pump, which he describes as “phenomenal”. But he’s making no claims they’re an affordable option – although over the long-term, the heat pumps can save a lot of money on bills, and they’re far more environmentally-friendly than standard boilers.

“One of the best things I’ve ever put in is an air source heat pump,” he declares. “So, I’ve got rid of my gas boiler – I’m not gas-dependent at all.

“These heat pumps aren’t cheap, so you can’t say they’re affordable. If you want to replace a gas boiler it’s going to cost you a couple of grand, but when you put an air source heat pump in, you’re changing a lot of the system, and the average cost is £6,000-£8,000, depending on the size of your house.”

He says homes need to be well-insulated for the heat pumps, which are powered by electricity, to work well. Clarke buys his power from a renewable energy supplier, and points out: “I know I’ve got clean, green technology providing all the heating and hot water for my house.

“My bills are definitely down, it’s amazing – they’re 30-40% less than they’d normally be. That’s a decent saving every year, but you’ve got to buy the kit. People are struggling to pay for expensive food and travel costs, so it might be a big ask.

“If you’ve had a standard gas boiler in your house for 12-15 years, it’s probably very inefficient and needs to be taken out and upgraded,” he says. “But I would suggest, if anyone can afford it, do not replace your gas boiler with another gas boiler, and if you can, put in an air source heat pump. Really take a long-term view on it.”

Make sustainable energy- and money-saving changes

“Change your lifestyle and the way you live in your house a little bit,” suggests Clarke. “Things like turning your boiler down by one or two degrees – when I was a kid, my nanna and grandad used to say, ‘Just put an extra jumper on’.”

He says boiling a kettle is one of the most energy-consuming things in the house, and advises: “If you want one cup of tea, just boil one cup of water in the kettle. But we never do that, do we? We fill it up to the top.”

He suggests trying to use less water at home, too, and points out: “Showers use a huge amount less water than baths. That’s going to make a difference.”

Camera security

As well as keeping warm and cosy in your home, Clarke stresses how important it is to feel safe there, and he’s had security cameras installed at his house. “Back in the day, you might put up a security light that would go on if someone walked past, and you might have a home alarm. But technology has come on so much over the last 10 years, and now there’s very high resolution cameras,” he says.

“These cameras can see what people look like, as long as they haven’t hidden their face, and they activate your phone, so if you’re not at home, as soon as it detects something, it calls you. You can see the images on your screen and even talk to the burglar if you want to.

“So, you can be alerted no matter where you are that someone’s just approaching your house, never mind getting into it.

“Any steps you can take to put people off burgling your house are important. I’ve got security cameras because I don’t want anybody getting in, it’s as simple as that.”

He says standard security lights are also a good idea, and timer switches on lights. “These are good, low-cost things you can do,” he says. “And you just cannot beat really good locks. At the end of the day, if someone really wants to get in, they’ll get in. You’ve just got to make it as difficult as possible for them to do that.”

George Clarke has partnered with smart-home security brand Arlo (arlo.com/en_gb) to help homeowners keep their properties secure through DIY connected security cameras.

Imelda May: I saw impact of second homes in Cornwall filming Fisherman’s Friends

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Imelda May post McCarthy Holden estate agents

Imelda May has said filming the Fisherman’s Friends sequel was an “eye-opener” regarding the impact of second homes in Cornwall, adding: “It needs to be addressed.”

The Irish singer-songwriter, 48, marks her acting debut playing Aubrey Flynn in the film alongside returning stars James Purefoy and Maggie Steed.

She told the PA news agency that Fisherman’s Friends: One And All was shot during lockdown, forcing the cast to film many of the scenes outside.

“It actually became a love story to Cornwall,” she said.

“Where we probably would have done a lot of the scenes inside, we had to do them standing on the edge of the cliff, looking out to sea.

“When you watch it, the cinematography and the landscapes are breathtakingly beautiful, and I think that added all the more to it.

“It’s just stunning when you see it, it’s such a glorious place, but it really shows it off to its heights.”

May said people needed to add to the “community spirit” in Cornwall rather than “taking away from it” in reference to the abundance of second homes.

She said: “I did notice when we started filming because of the lockdown, I could see how much of the village was in darkness. There was nobody, I could see that.

“As lockdown started to lift a little you could see all the lights come on, and I could see that people were just coming to the second home.

“So that was an eye-opener for me that I could see a difference when it was just locals.

“It needs to be addressed. People need to be able to live in their own communities and not be pushed out because somebody wants a second or third home.”

Imelda May post McCarthy Holden estate agents

She added that people “don’t need a home to enjoy an area”.

May said: “I go on tour to a lot of places and I love to find local villages and local people, but the only way to do that is to support the locals.

“You can go and rent one off somebody who already lives there or I love going back to old-fashioned bed and breakfasts where you actually get to meet people and you get the best tips.

“It’s community spirit and if you do that you’re adding to the community and you’re adding to the area rather than taking away from it.”

Fisherman’s Friends was inspired by a Cornish sea shanty singing group who performed in their home town of Port Isaac in 1995, before going on to secure a record deal with Universal Music’s Island Records in 2010.

The sequel Fisherman’s Friends: One And All comes out on August 19

Article By Ellie Iorizzo and Rachael Davis, PA

How to help small birds this summer

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Help Small Birds post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

How to help smaller birds fight for their share in your garden

By Sam Wylie-Harris, PA.

One of the joys of having a garden is bird watching – whether it’s birdsong, the flutter of wings, a happy chirp, birds cooling off in your birdbath or feeding time.

When you’ve put out the seeds, scraps or finely chopped unsalted bacon, you want everyone to have a share of the pickings.

But if you’re not careful, it only takes a greedy magpie or squawking jackdaw to steal the best bites and leave the little ones with nothing.

So, is there any way you can at least deter some of the bigger birds to allow the smaller ones a chance?

Help Small Birds post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

Sarah Hancocks, of specialist CJ Wildlife says: “There is never a guarantee that by putting out bird food, larger birds won’t attempt to eat it. However, some foods such as nyjer seed are less likely to attract larger birds because they have the biggest draw to greenfinches and chaffinches.

“Mesh feeders that contain peanuts are also less likely to attract larger birds, as the mesh makes it more difficult for them to get to the food.

“There are also small steps you can take to help keep them away from your caged feeders while maintaining some harmony among all kinds of birds – we never want to leave anyone out,” she adds.

Here’s what experts advise to help smaller birds have their fair share.

1. Add a ground feeder

Ensure the larger birds have their own supply of food away from your small garden bird feeder – Hancocks says this will deter them away from waiting for scraps from the smaller birds.

2. Place your garden bird feeder behind dense shrubbery or planting

“Out of sight, out of mind! Larger ground feeding birds are less likely to forage for food that’s more hidden behind shrubbery and plants,” she says.

“Whereas smaller garden birds such as blue tits and chaffinches will root around for their food in the undergrowth, so hiding your bird feeder can help deter larger birds.”

Place your feeder close to a hedge or wall – this will stop any large birds landing on your feeder, causing it to swing and shake food to the floor.

“This often causes a feeding frenzy for ground feeding birds!” she adds.

3. Place some food higher

As Hancocks points out: “Larger birds are much more likely to sit and feed from greater heights. So by putting out some food on top of your garden shed, one top of a high wall or other high flat locations, this will keep the bigger birds happy and off the smaller garden bird feeders.”

4. Choose food that’s suitable for little birds

Help Small Birds post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

In terms of food to offer small birds in your garden at this time of year, Helen Moffat from the RSPB says black sunflower seeds are popular with lots of garden birds, from finches to robins and tits, along with other smaller seed varieties like millet and flaked maize.

“Split peas, beans, dried rice, lentils and even dog biscuits are sometimes added to cheaper seed mixes to bulk them out – and small birds cannot eat things like this unless they have been soaked, so try and avoid them,” advises Moffat.

Whilst there are chicks in nests, she recommends avoiding foods which pose choking risks like whole peanuts and fat.

“These foods become important later in the year, when birds need more calories to cope with the colder weather,” notes Moffat.

“You can also put out some staples from your own kitchen such as soft fruit, like halved apples and bananas, soaked raisins or grated cheese.”

5. Get the right feeder

As Moffat points out, feeders are key to helping ensure smaller birds can access food, if you’re concerned about larger species taking it all first.

Whatever food you choose, she says it’s still likely to be eaten by larger ones if they can get to it.

“Special nyjer seed feeders have very small feeding holes which are difficult for larger birds to feed from. Finches – especially goldfinches – love this tiny oil-rich seed,” she says.

“Hanging bird feeders are ideal for perch-feeding birds like tits, goldfinches, and greenfinches, and you can deter larger birds with ‘feeder guardians’ – cages placed around the feeders.”

Moffat says no feeder guardian is 100% effective – and small or juvenile squirrels can sometimes squeeze through – so she advises regular checking.

Also, having a mix of feeders is best, she says, to ensure all birds can access some food – and don’t forget clean water too, an essential all year round but especially during hot weather.

6. Consider the weather

Help Small Birds post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

Food for your garden birds becomes vital if there are changes in the weather, warns Moffat, such as the extreme heat we’ve had.

“The hard, dry earth makes it really difficult for ground-feeding birds like black birds and thrushes to reach earthworms, and likewise, cold, wet spells can affect the insects available.”

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