The Secret Life of a Garden - Tapa dura

Even the smallest garden is home to an amazing variety of plants and animals, many of which live and die unobserved by the human eye.
Having explored the hidden lives of an oakwood and of a lake and stream in The Secret Life of an Oakwood and At the Water's Edge respectively, wildlife photographer Stephen Dalton has turned his attention to the nature reserve to be found literally on our own doorsteps. Activity in a garden never ceases, and seen through the camera lens, grass, hedges, water, buildings and trees teem with life. From morning to night, animals and plants are engaged in the battle for survival: making or gathering food, growing and reproducing. A garden undergoes many changes in the course of a day. In the morning, at midday and in the evening there are different visitors to observe. Mammals and birds are early risers; reptiles and amphibians become more active around midday. In the evening a whole new set of creatures takes over as moths, bats, owls and other nocturnal animals wake and leave their daytime retreats.
The undisputed master of high-speed nature photography, Stephen Dalton captures movements too rapid for the human eye to record. Tiny structures such as the pollen sac of a bee are revealed in stunning detail. Elusive garden visitors are seen in rare close-up, while others, more familiar, appear in a new and unexpected light. Together with clear and informative commentaries by Bernardine Shirley Smith and captions written by the photographer himself, the pictures reflect the daily rhythm of life in a country garden and provide a fascinating insight into a corner of the natural world that is often left unexplored.