Specieswatch: hedgehogs are well-loved but mysterious garden visitors

We know so little about the lives of these endearing animals, whose numbers are in decline in Britain

The European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, is said to be the gardener’s best friend; eating slugs, beetles and other unwelcome visitors to the vegetable patch. Whether this is true or not, the garden is the most likely place to find what is considered to be Britain’s favourite mammal, the species having fled from industrialised farmland to survive.

Related: Country diary: preparing the garden for a much-loved mammal

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Blooms with a view: Derek Jarman's magical garden gets a transplant

Surrounded by poppies, sea kale and a nuclear power station, the late director’s otherworldly cottage and garden in Kent have been saved for the nation. And now there’s good news for anyone who can’t wait to see inside

When the director and artist Derek Jarman began making his garden on the great shingle expanse outside his cottage in Dungeness, local fishermen feared something occult was afoot. “People thought I was building a garden for magical purposes,” Jarman said at the time, “a white witch out to get the nuclear power station.”

It’s not hard to see why. Approaching the black-tarred silhouette of Prospect Cottage, as you crunch your way across the otherworldly shingle desert on the tip of the Kent coast, you encounter a series of enigmatic stone circles bursting with red and yellow poppies. Driftwood totems rise above shaggy tufts of sea kale, while talismanic strings of pebbles dangle from rusting iron posts, above the metal balls of fishing floats emerging from clumps of gorse. The boxy hulk of a nuclear power station looms in the background, emitting a distant hum. It is one of the strangest, most magical garden scenes in the world – made no less so, back in the 90s, by the sight of Jarman in a hooded djellaba, pottering about among the blooms.

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Blooms with a view: Derek Jarman's magical garden gets a transplant

Surrounded by poppies, sea kale and a nuclear power station, the late director’s otherworldly cottage and garden in Kent have been saved for the nation. And now there’s good news for anyone who can’t wait to see inside

When the director and artist Derek Jarman began making his garden on the great shingle expanse outside his cottage in Dungeness, local fishermen feared something occult was afoot. “People thought I was building a garden for magical purposes,” Jarman said at the time, “a white witch out to get the nuclear power station.”

It’s not hard to see why. Approaching the black-tarred silhouette of Prospect Cottage, as you crunch your way across the otherworldly shingle desert on the tip of the Kent coast, you encounter a series of enigmatic stone circles bursting with red and yellow poppies. Driftwood totems rise above shaggy tufts of sea kale, while talismanic strings of pebbles dangle from rusting iron posts, above the metal balls of fishing floats emerging from clumps of gorse. The boxy hulk of a nuclear power station looms in the background, emitting a distant hum. It is one of the strangest, most magical garden scenes in the world – made no less so, back in the 90s, by the sight of Jarman in a hooded djellaba, pottering about among the blooms.

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Beyond sourdough: the hobbies that helped readers cope with lockdown

As lockdown restrictions continue to ease, Guardian readers tell us what pastimes and skills they’ve discovered – and rediscovered – during the pandemic

During lockdown, my husband and I have taken daily walks in the countryside that have kept us sane and given us a break from the monotony of confinement. Along the way, I have collected stones to paint. Looking for ways to engage the five-year-olds in my class (and missing them a bit too), I painted each stone to look like them and used them to make videos, games and to tell stories. The children loved them and it made some of their lessons a little more meaningful in what has been a challenging time. Anna Clow, 52, early years teacher, Lyon, France

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Beyond sourdough: the hobbies that helped readers cope with lockdown

As lockdown restrictions continue to ease, Guardian readers tell us what pastimes and skills they’ve discovered – and rediscovered – during the pandemic

During lockdown, my husband and I have taken daily walks in the countryside that have kept us sane and given us a break from the monotony of confinement. Along the way, I have collected stones to paint. Looking for ways to engage the five-year-olds in my class (and missing them a bit too), I painted each stone to look like them and used them to make videos, games and to tell stories. The children loved them and it made some of their lessons a little more meaningful in what has been a challenging time. Anna Clow, 52, early years teacher, Lyon, France

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Find out where demand has doubled since stamp duty holiday

Take a look!

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As stamp duty holiday begins, how do I get my home ready to sell?

Here's what you need to know.

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