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Where is it?
Harrow, to the North West of London.
The Wikipedia entry has some basic facts and maps.
Historically part of Middlesex and a rural area of market gardens and small settlements, in the early 20th century the underground railway expanded
and it became a suburb of mostly 'semi-detached' houses. As such, there are gardens
to the front and rear of most properties and although the recent trend is to pave over or cover areas with decking, the
view from above
is still predominently green in summer.
The Garden
Before the houses were built in the 1920s, the maps show the area as an orchard.
There are fruit trees in neighbouring gardens which date from before the houses but very few are left now. We have two mature apple trees
at the back which have reached 4-5m high and probably date from the early days of the house. The bark and branches are old enough to provide habitat for many insect guests and as such give excellent cover and habitat for wildlife.
There are also lilac trees, holly, wild cherries, elder and yew providing tree cover. Around the back garden is head high fencing, hardly visible through ivy, pyrocantha, forsythia, aucuba,
clematis montana and climbing hydrangea. Other shrubs include a privet hedge at the front, roses front and back, choisya, bamboo, weigela, philadephus and spiraea.
A few teasels are grown for the seed supply. There is a back lawn but partly laid to meadow - sown with a wild flower mix a few years back and cleared only once a year.
A few tubs for spring bulbs and summer bedding and the whole makes a good mix of cover, food supplies and even some nesting sites.
Visitors
Feeders have to be squirrel resistent, there is a peanut feeder, seed feeder with shelled sunflower seeds and a fat ball holder all year round.
In the nesting season we add mealworms and oyster shell grit for the nesting birds.
Daily visitors include
Robins Erithacus rubecula,
Blue Tits Parus caeruleus,
Great Tits Parus major,
Greenfinch Serinus citrinella,
Wood pigeons Columba palumbus,
Feral Pigeons Columba livia,
Starlings Sternus vulgaris,
Blackbirds Turdus merula,
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis,
Magpies Pica pica,
and Dunnocks Prunella modularis.
A couple of years ago House Sparrows Passer domesticus were rarely seen, but since 2006 they have become daily residents again.
Regular and seasonal visitors include
Swifts Apus apus,
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major,
Chaffinch Fringila coelebs,
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto,
Wren Trogodytes trogladytes,
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla,
Long tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus,
Crow Corvus corone,
Jay Garrulus glandarius,
Black backed gulls Larus fuscus,
Herring Gulls Larus argentatus and
Black Headed Gulls Larus ridibundus.
We don't monitor the garden 24 hours a day or keep detailed records but we have seen over several years
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus,
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus,
Green Woodpecker Picus viridis,
Coal Tit Parus ater,
Siskin Carduelis spinus,
Redwing Turdus illiacus,
Song thrush Turdus philomelos,
Nuthatch Sitta europaea,
Treecreeper Certhia familiaris,
Swallow Hirundo rustica,
House Martin Delichon urbica,
Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii,
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea and
Mallard Anas platyrhychos.
Ring-necked Parakeets have spread from the Thames area North to Harrow in the past couple of years and have been seen flying over, although not in the garden yet.
The RSPB web site has pictures.
Grey Squirrels are regulars while hedghogs, foxes, pipistrelle bats, mice and frogs have all been occasional visitors.