Blog

The Habitat Aid blog is set in Somerset. The blog tries to introduce some of the issues surrounding our natural environment as understood by a non ecologist. You’ll also find some practical “how to” guides. It’s written by Nick Mann, who runs Habitat Aid. Nick is an increasingly curmudgeonly bald middle-aged bloke of familiar type.

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En Vacances
September 1, 2023
As frustrated customers might have realised, I've been away in France for a couple of weeks and tried not to answer the phone. It's been a great br...
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Spring Blossom
May 15, 2023
Why don't we talk more about blossom as a resource for wildlife? Every one of our fruit trees has thousands and thousands of flowers for pollinatin...
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Sabre Wasp
June 25, 2022
Last week I was minding my own business watering the tomatoes in the greenhouse when an extraordinary beast buzzed past me. It must have been nearl...
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Unwilding
May 28, 2022
HUGE congratulations to local garden designers Urquhart and Hunt, who won Best of Show at Chelsea this year - and at their first attempt! What fant...
- biodiversity
- fruit trees
- gardens
- hedges
- Hookgate Cottage
- meadows
- orchards
- ponds
- Rewilding
- wildflowers
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Blossom, Blossom, And More Blossom!
April 18, 2020
You can have blossom in your garden from January to May. Here's why you want it and how you can have it!
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Hedgelaying for Wildlife
January 13, 2020
I love a bit of hedgelaying. I'm too old/knackered/incompetent to do very much, but it's a good workout and - more importantly - it's good for wil...
- hedges
- Hookgate Cottage
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September in the Garden
September 6, 2018
Things are beginning to look knackered in the garden in September. You might think it's time to cut back some of those long flowering perennials wh...
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The Cricket Field Oak
January 28, 2018
In winter when I do the washing up I can see the Cricket Field Oak. It's usually through Somerset rain which, as you can see, has left its mark ove...
- Hookgate Cottage
- trees and woodland
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The Magic of Green Roofs
October 2, 2016
It has been three years since we planted the green roof for our new house with wildflower plug plants, which has turned out to be a fabulous succes...
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British Nurseries
September 24, 2014
We are – finally – planting our small formal garden. I wanted to source the plants for it directly from the nursery – the British nursery – which g...
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Designer Habitat
September 19, 2014
I'm not a very visual person. I can't see stuff jump from the paper into the real world at all. For me it's a case of trial and error, then asking ...
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The Shock of the New: Contemporary Homes and Solar Farms
July 5, 2013
I bet that the majority of folk who stop in front of our new house* aren't wondering how many architectural awards it might win. I bet they're wond...
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