Gardening tips for February: Help the birds
There must be no delay: now is the time to help your garden birds


Garden birds are pairing up and there must be no delay in finalising the putting up of nest boxes, in locations out of cats' easy reach. An elevation facing north or east is best, as this will avoid the inhabitants experiencing too hot sunshine or the wettest winds. These days, there is no shortage of designs for ready-made boxes (the RSPB's online shop stocks dozens, including boxes to assist housemartins, swallows, swifts, owls and sparrows). Provided last year's boxes are not already being occupied by early nesters, they should be cleaned out now, ready for their new tenants.
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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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