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00:18Across the British Isles, there are magical places, our pride and joy, our gardens.
00:30Yet many of us are completely unaware of the wild world, right under our noses.
00:47Amazingly, some British gardens are almost as diverse as a tropical rainforest.
00:55And when our backs are turned, they come alive.
01:14From the wilds of Scotland to a metropolitan oasis.
01:22In each episode, we'll reveal the extraordinary dramas playing out within a single garden.
01:33Welcome to a hidden world right on our doorsteps.
01:57In a city of almost half a million people, hidden amongst rooftops and roads,
02:06lies a garden oasis, which artist and sculptor Lou has tended for 24 years.
02:16I would never call myself a gardener really, because I don't know much about plants.
02:22And I think because I am an artist, I like things to develop in their own way.
02:27And I have a kind of constant battle with slugs and snails.
02:31But we get there, and I just like it because it looks natural.
02:37And that's what I like about my garden.
02:40You know, it makes me happy.
02:42OK, I'm going to take these outside.
02:48It's a really small garden.
02:54And I've got a very tiny lawn, partly because I'm not really interested in lawns.
03:00Most of my interest is in the beds.
03:04One of the first things I did was build the pond.
03:08And that's one of my sculptures, because I don't know why.
03:12I just probably wasn't very happy with her.
03:14And now she keeps an eye on the frogs for me.
03:19Lou has created a haven for wildlife.
03:26But even she doesn't know the half of what goes on here.
03:32There's lots of mysterious places where I'll occasionally see something.
03:37I know there's a fox that quite often sleeps in the garden there.
03:41But obviously when it leaves my garden, who knows where it goes?
04:03Lou's garden has become the home of a young male fox.
04:10An urban opportunist.
04:15A century ago, virtually no foxes lived in our cities.
04:22Today, there are 2,000 of them in Bristol alone.
04:32This male is one of a whole host of animals in Lou's garden.
04:38Making a life for themselves in this strange new world.
04:52Life in the city can be tough.
05:01But it does come with its advantages.
05:07This wily fox knows exactly where to find a steady source of food.
05:16Lou's garden is at the center of the hundred or so that constitute his territory.
05:26But who owns what is a matter of opinion.
05:34If he is to survive here, he must claim food whenever it becomes available.
05:43And he's quick to notice the birdseed spilt on the patio.
05:55Like all urban foxes, he is bolder than his country cousins.
06:13And he even seems to know when it's midnight.
06:34But by the end of winter, he has a lot more than just dinner on his mind.
06:44The alluring sound of a vixen on heat.
06:51But where is she?
07:12The trouble is that a cry as loud as this...
07:19will attract males from all across the neighborhood.
07:32In cities, so much free food is available every night
07:36that 50 foxes can live in one square mile.
07:42So during the breeding season, competition for a mate is fierce.
07:57Many of us have heard this.
08:05But never seen what produces it.
08:18The unsettling racket of fox courtship.
08:44This is his territory.
08:49And maintaining his ownership gives him the best chance of fathering cubs.
09:08To one outsider...
09:13Lou's garden offers a fresh start.
09:18A blue tit.
09:20Less than a year old.
09:22Less than a year old.
09:23And very hungry.
09:26Winter has stripped his woodland home of food.
09:34So he's searching for a better life in the city.
09:44And Lou's garden could provide just that.
09:55In the winter, over a hundred species of bird visit feeders.
10:07But few of us ever notice the power struggle that this creates.
10:24A charm of goldfinches, as they say.
10:30Though charming...
10:32Though charming...
10:33They are not.
10:38They are larger and heavier.
10:42And they don't like sharing.
10:50Barely the weight of a pound coin...
10:54The blue tit doesn't stand a chance.
11:01And there are even bigger birds in this queue.
11:11Feral pigeons are a lot smarter than they may look.
11:17They know that goldfinches on a feeder means there will be leftovers on the patio.
11:28He is truly bottom of the pecking order.
11:42But other birds are the least of his worries.
11:57They are not truly near the possibility of an armed attraction.
12:01This is the neighborhood's top predator.
12:06Mr. Fluffy.
12:15The blue tit is close to starvation.
12:28There are over ten million pet cats nationwide.
12:48It's estimated that they kill over 50 million birds every year.
13:04But Lou has placed her feeder just out of reach, so the only casualties today is Mr. Fluffy's pride.
13:20City life may come with risk, but an all-you-can-eat buffet...
13:32...is a great place to meet a mate.
13:47As dusk falls, most residents of the garden hide away.
13:56But this is the time when one of them begins to stir.
14:06It lives in the darkest corners.
14:14Once, there were over 30 million in Britain.
14:18But today, fewer than a million remain.
14:23With the intensification of agriculture, their countryside homes are disappearing.
14:52Hedgehogs.
14:57After five months in hibernation, this female is raring to go.
15:07And so, it seems, are her fleas.
15:11Nothing that a quick scratch can't fix.
15:35Almost got it.
15:45Ah, that's the spot.
15:57She needs to be at her best tonight.
16:03And stay out of trouble.
16:12Because she's looking for a mate.
16:18The problem is, as the only hedgehog in a walled garden...
16:25She's hardly spoiled for choice.
16:31But Lou and her neighbours have made a small change that goes a long way to help.
16:45A hedgehog highway.
16:52A system of tunnels connecting every garden on the street.
17:05Opening up her dating pool to 16 gardens.
17:14In the neighbour's garden...
17:19There's no one here.
17:24Next door down...
17:27No luck either.
17:31No luck either.
17:58It's not just birds in the firing line.
18:04Every year, pet cats kill millions of mammals, but there's not a lot a cat can do against
18:28this prickly customer.
18:40Garden 16.
18:42It's the Last Chance Saloon.
18:49And what do you know?
18:50Something smells very promising indeed.
18:58An intoxicating aroma.
19:09A male, heading her way.
19:21He, too, has been attracted by her musky odour.
19:32He's quite the charmer.
19:44And, of course, he takes care.
19:48If you're a hedgehog, love can really hurt.
20:03It's been a rather productive romp through the neighbourhood.
20:09But rather than head back to bed, she is making the most of her big night out.
20:18And she mates with not just a second partner, but a third.
20:28Hedgehogs are highly promiscuous.
20:31So a single litter may have multiple fathers.
20:42It's a way of ensuring genetic diversity among her young.
20:55Lou and her neighbours may have built a path to parenthood.
21:03But successfully raising a litter of hoglets is far from guaranteed.
21:15Bricks, tarmac, and concrete retain heat.
21:21So spring in the city arrives earlier than in the surrounding countryside.
21:36And after a few nights, above five degrees Celsius, a cold-blooded young male is warming up.
21:49A common frog.
21:53He's something of a recluse for most of the year.
22:01But for the next few weeks, he will be seeking company.
22:08And he heads for the garden pond.
22:13To look for a mate.
22:21The trouble is that even a gardener as small as Lou's could host 50 other males.
22:33They're all competitors in a race to breed.
22:39So he too had better hop to it.
22:57Lo and behold.
22:59A female.
23:04Positively bursting with hundreds of eggs.
23:20It's just as well he got here quickly.
23:28Males can outnumber females four to one.
23:44If he wants to win the mating game, he must grab a female before someone else does.
24:04He's got her.
24:07Now, hold on tight.
24:14And fend off those rivals.
24:17Finding the uncomfortable bugs for everyone ever.
24:21That does come, honey.
24:25This does come.
24:31Or that does ŃŃŠ½Šŗiously end up there.
24:38And I have found theŠntern, the shadows to paint the proudly.
24:38Like ownerless thependries.
24:39live
24:39But I'm...
24:40In this sense...
24:42All right...
24:45we are happy to do things.
24:46You easily have a cathedral...
24:51Having proved himself worthy, she rewards him with a clump of eggs, which he fertilizes.
25:10Within each pinhead-sized embryo, a new story is beginning.
25:24Even the smallest garden pond can become a cradle for life.
25:49In the front garden, the male Bluetit's prospects are looking up.
25:57He's spotted a female in his new patch.
26:06And he's getting just what he needs to impress her.
26:13Tree hollows are in short supply in city gardens, so a nest box is a welcome alternative.
26:27A quick viewing.
26:33So far, so good.
26:37It's north-facing, so it's not too hot in summer.
26:51Minimalist, but he could work with that.
26:55Solid walls, too.
26:58This could be it.
27:05Now, he just needs a partner to make this house a home.
27:22Down below, the garden is changing fast.
27:38Densely planted urban gardens like Luz can have a higher diversity of flowering plants than any wild habitat.
27:51And that attracts pollinators from across the neighborhood.
28:02Thanks to Luz's green fingers, around 50 species of bee visit her garden.
28:18With some living closer to home than others.
28:27Such as this hairy-footed flower bee.
28:38It's long tongue sucks up nectar.
28:42And its hairy feet give it its name.
28:50But some properties come with strings attached.
29:03Warm walls make excellent hiding spots for a growing number of spider species.
29:14Such as this green-fanged tube-web spider.
29:26Originally from the Mediterranean, they are now thriving in many of Britain's southern port cities.
29:41At this time of year, a more familiar resident becomes increasingly daring.
29:52He forages in broad daylight.
30:23These days, Luz's Fox is a great one.
30:26has new responsibilities because over the fence
30:35and just across the street
30:42a new chapter of his life is beginning.
30:59One cub, two cubs, four cubs, just a few weeks old.
31:27They've been growing up safely with their mother
31:29in a den beneath Lou's neighbour's shed.
31:44His family feels so secure here
31:48that they wander out in daylight
31:52exploring their new world.
32:07Rarely in the animal kingdom does a father stick around.
32:14But paternal care is more common in the dog family
32:18than in most other groups of mammals.
32:23So he does his bit, protecting and cleaning his youngsters.
32:41In the first few weeks of their lives, their mother stops foraging completely to nurse her cubs.
32:52So dad brings back food for her from across the many gardens in their territory.
33:15For foxes in the city,
33:18raising a family takes a whole postcode.
33:38The city life has many distractions.
33:44It's easy to miss the little things.
33:49Right on our doorsteps.
34:00In the blue-tits' nest books,
34:03in the blue-tits' nest books,
34:20in the blue-tits' nest books,
34:22He is a father,
34:23and life will never be the same again.
34:31Now, the hard work begins for both parents.
35:03To successfully fledge, each chick will require 20,000 caterpillars.
35:16It's a tall order that must be completed within three weeks.
35:33When caterpillars are in short supply, spiders will have to do.
35:57As the days turn to weeks, the chicks' appetites increase and their parents struggle to keep up.
36:12In winter, bluetits come to our cities, attracted to our garden bird feeders.
36:22But as summer arrives, one of the drawbacks of city life becomes clear.
36:38Despite the bluetits' best efforts, their chicks, one by one, die of starvation.
37:00There simply aren't enough native plants here to support the caterpillars that bluetits need to raise their young.
37:11The odds of any of his chicks surviving are fading by the day.
37:27The number of insects in Britain have fallen by 60% in the last 20 years.
37:38So for many animals here, finding enough to eat can be a struggle.
37:46And right now, this little hedgehog needs more food than ever.
37:56Because she's eating for five.
38:13She will need to eat all she can to produce enough milk for her hungry youngsters.
38:29The hedgehog highway helps, but it only goes so far.
38:39Especially during a particularly dry British summer.
38:43But from this point on, his natural habitat becomes drier.
38:54There's hardly anything to eat on her regular garden tour.
39:02The insects and earthworms she usually relies on have retreated deep underground.
39:12Bird feeder leftovers aren't nearly enough.
39:27But mothers will take extraordinary risks.
39:36Out on the streets, there is a threat far greater than any natural predator.
39:45Finding that way.
39:47Finding that way.
39:54Every year, hundreds of thousands of hedgehogs die on our roads.
40:00And others are missing, waiting for us.
41:08Remarkably, it seems that city hedgehogs are learning to avoid the busiest streets and are choosing to cross quieter, slower
41:20roads.
41:30In a well-kept garden, just metres from the street, even the most vulnerable stand a chance.
41:47Out of sight in Lou's pond, the frog's eggs are developing fast.
41:59For a single tadpole, the chances of reaching adulthood are slim.
42:15Dragonfly larvae hunt any small thing that moves.
42:27Over the next three months, they must stay out of trouble, grow a pair of limbs...
42:39..and another...
42:44..until finally they emerge as froglets the size of peas.
43:01Sometimes little legs need a helping hand.
43:08A makeshift staircase leads the way to the garden beyond.
43:25Soon, the froglet will repay the favour...
43:30..and join the army of frogs that keep plant-eating slugs in check.
43:43As summer approaches, youngsters all across the garden...
43:49..are taking their first steps into the unknown.
43:57Despite the lack of caterpillars, one hardy young bluetit has grown enough to fledge.
44:11Thanks to its determined parents.
44:33Nevertheless, the chick still needs encouragement to leave the nest for good.
44:53He has a field of breeding ..
44:57No bourgeoisie, a little brother.
45:10He is so small.
45:11When he leaves here, there is no proof of an animal in the nest for the rest.
45:12He will be alive and he will be alive.
45:12He will be alive.
45:12I am trying to find one another one.
45:12His body isspersed up to it.
45:13He is bringing his head to the distance.
45:14He is still alive, and the end predator is still alive.
45:14Over the end of humans, it may make a travelling day since the end of the village.
45:15Well, it's not a standalone of sight.
45:17Very stable.
45:23The ground is not a place for a young blue tit.
45:31And Mr. Fluffy is back.
45:39His new bell lets everyone know that he's arrived.
45:52But the young chick has yet to find its wings.
46:11Dad sounds the alarm.
46:27For many blue tit fledglings, their first flight is also their last.
46:45Wiim!!!
46:58Made it.
47:02A bell round the neck reduces pet cat's hunting success by over a third.
47:11Good news for the birds.
47:16Bad news for Mr. Fluffy.
47:27Slowly, the chick finds its feet.
47:34And will soon be ready to fend for itself.
47:51City life presents plenty of challenges for wildlife.
47:57But with gardens making up a third of our urban space, they have an important role to play.
48:07Hi, Gabby.
48:08One of the wonderful things about being in this neighbourhood is that even though we've each
48:16got very small gardens, if you add it up, it makes a big space.
48:23In a sense, you're creating a huge garden for foxes, hedgehogs, all sorts of things.
48:36Together, our gardens cover a greater area than all of our national nature reserves combined.
48:49Each can provide a vital link in the lives of the animals that live in them.
49:02Not only did this hedgehog survive the dry summer, she also successfully raised all four of her hoglets.
49:17As their rural relatives continue to decline, there are signs that city hedgehogs are on the increase.
49:30Repaying gardeners in their own particular way.
49:37And as summer comes to a close,
49:46a newcomer arrives in Lou's garden.
49:56Watched over by a familiar face.
50:05He is his father's son, and is now old enough to explore the neighbourhood.
50:18These resourceful animals bring a little magic into our lives.
50:30If we choose to share our space, something wild might just move in.
50:53The team set out to film one city animal,
50:57to which there are very different reactions.
51:02The urban fox.
51:06Lou shows wildlife cinematographer, John Waters, the lie of the land.
51:12I know that this path is used quite a lot.
51:15I've seen foxes coming up, you know, jumping off that fence sometimes, or from over there.
51:21To film the fox without disturbing it, John sets up remote cameras.
51:28The smaller the space, it is more difficult, because often the camera is going to be in the way of
51:35the animal,
51:35and that can spook it slightly.
51:38Animals are unpredictable, these cameras are pretty unpredictable.
51:42They don't always work. There's a massive element of luck.
51:48A few weeks later, time to check the footage.
51:53Cat.
51:54Cat.
51:56Cat.
51:57Ooh.
51:58Ooh, fox.
51:59Oh, this is the one I was waiting for.
52:01Oh, wow, that's lovely.
52:03Oh, that's lovely.
52:03The cameras reveal Lou's fox gets up to far more than she ever sees.
52:10But he's neither the hedgehog hunter nor the cat killer that some believe urban foxes to be.
52:17He's obviously in my garden doing this little circuit and then goes who knows where.
52:23I don't know how far he travels or where he goes.
52:27So far, the team is only getting glipses of the fox's secret life.
52:35To discover what he does when he leaves the garden, producer Ewan McDonnell-Smith heads onto the streets.
52:45The dream is, if he is successful in mating, and he and his vixen have cubs,
52:51that we can find the den that they're being raised in and film them.
52:56I mean, that would be an incredible thing to show Lou.
52:59Ewan isn't the first to try his luck filming Bristol foxes.
53:05Back in the 1970s, a rather fresh-faced presenter set out to do so for the very first time.
53:14How much do we really know about the urban fox? How many are there?
53:18Where do they go during the daytime? A BBC team here in Bristol, in the Natural History Unit,
53:24set out to try and make a film about the life of a town fox.
53:32In the half-century since, their numbers have quadrupled in our cities.
53:48I do get a lot of funny reactions from, you know, people in the neighbourhood.
53:54Anyone out in the streets will tell me,
53:56oh yeah, I see foxes all the time.
53:58You don't need a fancy camera to see them.
54:00It's easy to get a glimpse of a fox.
54:02But to actually spend any time with one takes a lot of perseverance.
54:10It turns out that the local foxes are pretty brazen.
54:19But while city life comes with higher rewards, it also comes with higher risks.
54:26I've just come across a dead fox that has been hit by a car.
54:30I was really worried it was going to be Lou's fox.
54:34Looks like it's a different individual.
54:37Still not a very nice thing to see.
54:42One aspect of the fox's life remains a mystery.
54:47The location of his den.
54:51The team comes up with all sorts of ways to track it down.
55:00But it's Lou's local WhatsApp group that gives the most promising lead.
55:12Hi Joe, how's it going?
55:17It seems Mr Fox has been raising a family right under Huon's nose.
55:23Smells a fox.
55:28Over the next few days, their patience is rewarded.
55:37He's just so relaxed. I don't think he can see us.
55:39No, he has no idea.
55:46We've been following Lou's fox for the past six months.
55:50Such a relief to find this den and to find these four cubs.
55:56At last, time to reveal the footage to Lou.
56:01Oh wow, the little fox cubs.
56:04Yeah, so there's four of them living under this shed with their mother.
56:08That's amazing. And that's just across the road.
56:11Yeah. Oh god, they're so adorable.
56:15A year of filming has changed the way Lou sees her garden.
56:21It's amazing to think of these wild animals in the centre of the city, isn't it? And thriving.
56:27We've created a safe environment for a wild creature, and I think that's lovely.
56:34And the footage proves that even the smallest urban space can provide a vital home to a host of enchanting
56:44wildlife.
56:51Next time, the country garden in the lake district.
56:59We're determined animals must race.
57:03To raise a family.
57:10Discover the wildlife on your doorstep with the Open University's Secret Garden Interactive Experience.
57:17Scan the QR code on screen now, or head to connect.open.ac.uk forward slash secret garden.
57:30After 89 years goes to nonprofit, the National Public Service Ć hmmm.
57:46Look at all the allĆ junk in the archive and see the prophetic gods.
57:49See you with the annual collection.
57:49I 1945'siga animJI terms are everybody interested in helping us.
57:50A curve across the moment from Kanners.
57:58You
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