Our April Wildlife Garden Diary.

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:13]April, and the garden is beginning to come alive on this lovely spring morning.

[00:00:21]Bos has started to feel his age, now he's [music] gone 15.

[00:00:33]On the 6th of April, our first marsh marigold.

[00:00:37]>> [music] >> The tadpoles are doing fine, and the blue tits are starting to build their nest.

[00:01:10]I've dug out this underwater camera, and I'm going to try it in the pond to see what life there is under the surface.

[00:01:33]It showed nothing more than the tadpoles.

[00:01:39]We love the fritillaries, and they've opened earlier than usual.

[00:01:57]In our scree garden, the pasque flowers are at their best.

[00:02:11]And it could be a good year for the ladybirds.

[00:02:17]In our back garden, the daffs have been better this year.

[00:02:26]Around the middle of April, typically April weather, followed by morning frost, but not cold enough for frost damage.

[00:02:51]Then, on the 18th of April, a welcoming warm spell.

[00:03:18]Our small garden shed is back in use with our first midday snack.

[00:03:32]And life in our small garden is advancing every day.

[00:03:42]We're well into [music] the second half of April, and I think it's about time now I'll just have a look around the garden to see how things are growing, how things are developing, and what's coming up in places what I would expect and what I wouldn't expect.

[00:03:58]See, we've got some cowslips here. They weren't here last year cuz they seed themselves all around the garden.

[00:04:07]I think we've had the best of the daffodils. I think this is the last group I planted 2 years since, and they're just about at the best, but I think they're just about going over.

[00:04:19]This is where I used to plant all the fritillaries, but for some reason now, they don't seem to like it. So, they've seeded themselves on the opposite side of the garden in the wet rockery.

[00:04:38]As I was saying, this is the old rock garden, and it's very, very damp. And these fritillaries have really taken a liking to it here, and they've seeded themselves from across the garden to here, and I think they're just about the best.

[00:04:55]It's surprising what flowers have arrived over the years, like these violets.

[00:05:05]This year, the cowslips are coming up all along the edges of the path. They've just naturalized there, and this year, they're growing along the side of the stream alongside the primroses.

[00:05:24]And all around the pond, the marsh marigolds are opening. In a few days, they will be at the best.

[00:05:35]Flowers are opening all around the pond, and one of my favorites, the water avens.

[00:05:43]I dug this pond about 40 years since.

[00:05:46]We've got frogs. We've had a few toads, but we've never had newts. But last year, I found some newt tadpoles, some baby newts, but I've never seen a newt yet, and I've looked day and night over the years. Nothing as yet, but they must have come.

[00:06:01]Tonight, I'll bring out the torch and see if I can see any newts in the pond when it's dark. I've done it before, but I've never seen anything yet.

[00:06:17]This is the merits of a wildlife pond.

[00:06:19][music] We really love it, especially in the spring when everything's happening.

[00:06:28]For gardeners who are wondering whether to build a pond, just build it. Make it a wildlife pond, [music] and you'll never regret it.

[00:06:44]I'm setting up this trail camera to see how much activity we have around the great tit box.

[00:06:53]So far, I know the woodpecker's called, and the wood pigeons are very lively.

[00:07:06]On one of several cuts, I found a great tit box, but it doesn't scare off the great tits.

[00:07:25]This plastic mesh hasn't deterred the cat, but I think these plastic spikes will do the trick.

[00:07:34]I've moved the trail camera to follow the blue tit's progress, but so far, I haven't got any results.

[00:07:51]The month advances with all the everyday goings-on that I film.

[00:08:03]I've moved the trail camera back to the great tit box and it also records the comings and goings of everyday life.

[00:08:31]Looking out of our bedroom window, it's quite apparent now that the garden is nearly in full bloom and there's new flowers coming out everyday.

[00:08:40]One thing that's a slight problem, we haven't had any rain and the pond levels are suffering. So, we'll have a final look around the garden for the last day of April.

[00:08:54]Wooden anemones are showing all around the garden. I haven't planted them, the seeds must have just blown in.

[00:09:14]A few nights ago, I came to have a look at the pond at midnight with a torch and I definitely saw a newt. Since then, I've been out everyday and not a sign of them at all. We have had newts in the past because last year, we had a baby newt, but so far, we haven't seen any more.

[00:09:36]You can see how our bluebells are coming out. coming out.

[00:09:40]Our two English bluebells hasn't yet been hybridized by the common Spanish bluebell, which is all over our area.

[00:09:50]And in amongst them, we've got a white bell. But it's still a bluebell.

[00:10:09]One of the plants that's coming to the garden is ramsons, the wild garlic. And I'm not keen on it, and I don't know whether it has any benefits to wildlife.

[00:10:30]Summing up April, the garden's fine, but we just haven't had the birds and insects to make this month more interesting.

[00:10:45]As I was saying earlier, it's the last day in April, and it's an absolutely beautiful day. It's sunny, [music] but it's breezy.

[00:10:51]But we're crying out for rain. So, we'll just have to see how the garden shapes up in May and June.