The species with the biggest biomass in any garden is almost certainly the earthworm. These humble denizens of our soil provide essential services by turning over soil and promoting plant growth. Professor Peter Holland explains why Darwin found them so fascinating and Lindsay explains how their muscles work, allowing them to escape from birds, no matter how early they turn up.

We take a walk around a local park to admire more winter trees and see why conifers win over broadleaved trees as we move further North, but even they have to drop their needles during the winter in the farthest reaches of the Boreal forest. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In winter the bones of the trees are laid bare, giving us a chance to see their skeletons. Join Lindsay as she takes a tour round Wytham Woods in Oxford, showing you how to identify our common native trees from their bark and the shape of their branches. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Peering into a drop of pondwater allows you to look back in time and see key events in the history of life on Earth. In this episode we learn where plants obtained the machinery needed for photosynthesis and find out how hard it is for multicellular beings to form. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

What do birds like eating and what decisions do they have to make when visiting a bird feeder? Not quite tuppence a bag - Brits spent around 200 million pounds a year on bird food. But what do birds like eating and what decisions do they have to make when visiting a feeder? Lindsay visits her mum's garden to get some close-up shots, Friederike Hillemann tells us about her research in Wytham Woods and Annette Fayet explains how puffins face similar problems. Creative Commons...

What do birds like eating and what decisions do they have to make when visiting a bird feeder? Not quite tuppence a bag - Brits spent around 200 million pounds a year on bird food. But what do birds like eating and what decisions do they have to make when visiting a feeder? Lindsay visits her mum's garden to get some close-up shots, Friederike Hillemann tells us about her research in Wytham Woods and Annette Fayet explains how puffins face similar problems. Creative Commons...

Find out how plants like mistletoe and hayrattle extract resources from their hosts and how hayrattle engages in a game of rock, paper, scissors, that makes managing meadows a whole lot easier. Around half of the species on our planet are parasites. Plants can play this game, being either partially or fully parasitic on their hosts. Find out how plants like mistletoe and hayrattle extract resources from their hosts and how hayrattle engages in a game of rock, paper, scissors, that makes...

Find out how plants like mistletoe and hayrattle extract resources from their hosts and how hayrattle engages in a game of rock, paper, scissors, that makes managing meadows a whole lot easier. Around half of the species on our planet are parasites. Plants can play this game, being either partially or fully parasitic on their hosts. Find out how plants like mistletoe and hayrattle extract resources from their hosts and how hayrattle engages in a game of rock, paper, scissors, that makes...

Dedicated to moths, this episode explores how and why these unsung heroes deserve more attention. Lindsay examines the horse chestnut leaf miner and hunts for spectacular hornet moths in her local park; Doug Boyes explains why he is a life-long fan; and Professor Ben Sheldon empties his moth-trap so we can all see who’s hanging out in the garden at night. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Dedicated to moths, this episode explores how and why these unsung heroes deserve more attention. Lindsay examines the horse chestnut leaf miner and hunts for spectacular hornet moths in her local park; Doug Boyes explains why he is a life-long fan; and Professor Ben Sheldon empties his moth-trap so we can all see who’s hanging out in the garden at night. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Woodpigeons are common garden birds, whose familiar call has been likened to someone complaining about their feet. But woodpigeons make fantastic parents, and like all pigeons and doves produce a kind of 'milk' to feed their young. Find out more about them and discover how an Oxford PhD student is trying to uncover more about the feral pigeons in town centres and their wild relative, the rock dove. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales;...

Woodpigeons are common garden birds, whose familiar call has been likened to someone complaining about their feet. But woodpigeons make fantastic parents, and like all pigeons and doves produce a kind of 'milk' to feed their young. Find out more about them and discover how an Oxford PhD student is trying to uncover more about the feral pigeons in town centres and their wild relative, the rock dove. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales;...

Find out how birds, insects and plants exploit iridescence. The natural world is filled with colour, but colours can be produced in different ways. Solid colours are due to chemical pigments, but other colour phenomena, such as iridescence are due to physical structures. Find out how birds, insects and plants exploit iridescence to dazzle sexual partners and intimidate rivals, or even just to make the most of the left-over light that other plants can't use. Creative Commons...

Blue and great t**s commonly use nest-boxes in gardens. In this episode we explore their nesting behaviour and get a priviledged view inside the nest-boxes at Wytham Woods. We explore what determines the number of eggs that they lay and ask whether could they lay more. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Blue and great t**s commonly use nest-boxes in gardens. In this episode we explore their nesting behaviour and get a priviledged view inside the nest-boxes at Wytham Woods. We explore what determines the number of eggs that they lay and ask whether could they lay more. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Lindsay searches for the truth about our verdant green world and tackles a mystery about her rose-bushes: who ate all the greenfly? We live on a green planet and it's hard to imagine it being any different. But the fact that most plants are covered in lush green leaves needs some explaining. Part of the explanation lies deep inside plant cells and part of it with the insects that feed on them. Join Lindsay as she searches for the truth about our verdant world and tackles a mystery that...

Lindsay searches for the truth about our verdant green world and tackles a mystery about her rose-bushes: who ate all the greenfly? We live on a green planet and it's hard to imagine it being any different. But the fact that most plants are covered in lush green leaves needs some explaining. Part of the explanation lies deep inside plant cells and part of it with the insects that feed on them. Join Lindsay as she searches for the truth about our verdant world and tackles a mystery that...

Did you know that just five groups of insects dominate your garden? And can you tell the difference between bugs and beetles? In this week's episode, meet the Bug Five and learn how to tell them apart, with beautiful drawings by Lindsay's former student, Pandora Dewan, and lots of new video clips. You are encouraged to select your own Bug Five, by choosing your favourite representative of each of the five groups and you can decide whether Linday's Bug Five are better or worse than those...

Did you know that just five groups of insects dominate your garden? And can you tell the difference between bugs and beetles? In this week's episode, meet the Bug Five and learn how to tell them apart, with beautiful drawings by Lindsay's former student, Pandora Dewan, and lots of new video clips. You are encouraged to select your own Bug Five, by choosing your favourite representative of each of the five groups and you can decide whether Linday's Bug Five are better or worse than those...

In this episode we take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. Nearly all familiar plants produce seeds, but the first plants to colonise the land did not. Ferns belong to an ancient group and continue to be successful, but they don't produce seeds and tend to be restricted to damp, shady places. We take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. We also take a look at germinating seeds and...

In this episode we take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. Nearly all familiar plants produce seeds, but the first plants to colonise the land did not. Ferns belong to an ancient group and continue to be successful, but they don't produce seeds and tend to be restricted to damp, shady places. We take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. We also take a look at germinating seeds and...

In this episode we look closely at Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge, a very common plant throughout the UK. Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge is a very common plant throughout the UK. Confined to hedgerows, it's a familiar sight in April and May with its tiny white flowers and most of us probably pay it rather little attention. But in America, where it was brought by settlers, it is regarded as a serious pest. We examine the insects that are found on garlic mustard and find out why...

In this episode we look closely at Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge, a very common plant throughout the UK. Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge is a very common plant throughout the UK. Confined to hedgerows, it's a familiar sight in April and May with its tiny white flowers and most of us probably pay it rather little attention. But in America, where it was brought by settlers, it is regarded as a serious pest. We examine the insects that are found on garlic mustard and find out why...