You’ve heard of the baker’s dozen? Well, today let me introduce you to the Welsh week. In Wales, it seems, a week actually consists of nine days (!) so here is my selection for day eight of Wales Biodiversity Week.

I am lucky to live opposite Roath Park, here in Cardiff, but it’s a large and varied place, with recreation grounds and a botanical garden, as well as a lake, so I’ve chosen just one smallish area for my biodiversity challenge, the Wild Gardens at the northern end of the lake.

Developed slightly later than the rest of the park, in 1896, the Wild Gardens have seen many changes in their lifetime. In the early days there was a summer house in the centre and during 1910-11 three ponds for trout-rearing were constructed. Nowadays the Gardens live up to their ‘wild’ name, with a network of dirt footpaths winding back and forth amongst a canopy of mature trees with shrubby growth beneath. A few weeks ago this place was awash with wild garlic – a most gIorious, if smelly spectacle, and now it’s lush with blackberry bushes and ferns, grasses and wildflowers. I love its wildness and so does the wildlife, as you can see from these photos, all taken on yesterday’s wander.