I USUALLY pull out all the stops to try and encourage wildlife into the garden. I think, though, that I may have gone a little too far.

The small pond that I created at the far end of the garden just over 18 months ago has reached a fairly stable and mature stage. The water lilies flowered profusely all summer, the irises have bulked out and the oxygenating milfoil has kept it from clogging up with algae (some people are too scared of putting this plant in their pond for fear of it taking over, but if you keep it growing in a basket, you can control it well).

Frogs and toads have crawled out from behind various rocky crevices and have formed a small, but happy sunbathing club on the sandstone rocks that edge the pond.

There is a marginal semi-bog area just behind the pond where any overflow seeps out to provide a nice moist footing for lobelia cardinalis and firecracker, ligularia, rodgersia and one gunnera plant. The gaps in between are filled with the smiling yellow mimulus.

An old, tilting, gnarled, but still productive apple tree stands guard to one side of the pond. Next door's golden shower rose scrambles up the fence behind it and hangs its big blousy blooms over the water, as if flirting with its own reflection.

The large stones that surround the pond are filled with sedums, geraniums, ferns and thymes. They are starting to self seed now, and make the area look as though it has evolved naturally. The moss covering all the stones gives it a sense of time and history too.

The day before going away on holiday, I gave the pond and its surrounding vegetation a bit of a post summer trim. Now that the worst of the summer's heat has passed, I could afford to let more light reach the pond, without the fear of a build up of algae.

I cut back the overgrown spindly rose branches that were thrashing around in the wind. A good two feet of leafy growth was pruned off from the apple branches. The spent flowers were cut down from the surrounding perennial plants. I even split and thinned out the clumps of irises. It only took a morning and half an afternoon to smarten it all up. It almost seems a waste to be clearing up just before going off on holiday. I always cut the lawn the day before I go away for any length of time, and what is the first job I have to do on my return? Mow the lawn. Anyway, it does mean that you can enjoy your hols with a good clear conscience, and not worry about the triffids taking over the garden (or is that just me?)

It wasn't the triffids that visited my garden while I was away. I heard about the destruction in transit between Newcastle and Heathrow.

While waiting for the luggage to come through, I rang my mother to make sure the menagerie had survived without us. I always dread this call, just in case something has happened to one of the animals.

The dogs, the cat, the guinea pigs, the finches and even every one of the tropical fish had made it through the week. The outside goldfish though had all disappeared and the pond had been turned upside down. I thought to myself that there must have been a particularly windy night and the fish were just hiding. However, on inspection it was quite apparent that the pond had been visited by a heron.

The plants had been kicked around and the small pump that sends a trickle of water through a hole in a block of sandstone had been parted from its piping. Most notably though, the fish, Eeny, Meeny, Miny and Mo were definitely no longer there.

It didn't take long to fix everything (apart from the fish). I cut the length of the pipe so that it didn't wind around the bottom of the pond so much. This increased the water pressure and caused the stream of water to shoot out from the stone. My lovely neighbours were away for the week so I decided to allow it continue gushing through for a while and settle the water. Being a considerate neighbour, I made sure to turn the volume down to a mere ripple though on their return.

The clearing of the area must have given the airborne heron a good view of a new source of lunch. I will think twice before being so ready to tidy up again.

JOBS THIS WEEK

*Clear the greenhouse

The heat has just about left the sky now. If you have an unheated greenhouse, take out any green tomatoes, cucumbers or peppers that need to be harvested and take them indoors. Remove the soil or bags and put on the compost heap.

*Pick apples

Remove any apples left on the tree. This year, many of them have turned brown before dropping and don't seem to be keeping well. Try to use them up as quickly as possible, or store in a cool airy place.

*Dead head the roses

Before the 'wind rock' pruning later in the year, make sure that all the spent flower heads are taken off the plant (unless the hips are of particular interest). This helps to build up energy reserves in the plant and maintains its vigour.

POSTSCRIPT

Listen to further horticultural chat with Brigid every Sunday from 12-2pm on BBC Radio Cleveland 95FM