One of the reasons I am not a fan of too tidy borders is to make room for garden wildlife, and at this time of year for Hedgehogs.

Hedgehogs hibernate from November to March and needs somewhere safe and warm. Ideal spots are piles which they can get into to hibernate such as logs, leaves or compost.

Hedgehogs are a gardeners friend as their natural diet includes slugs. With all the slugs in my garden I would have expected to be overrun with Hedgehogs, sadly not. More with Badgers, Foxes and Moles.  

Since I would like to encourage the Hedgehogs to make their  hibernation nest in the garden, in the weedy, wilder bits of the garden I have left  heaps of leaves and compost. The Hedgehog is a woodland creature, which adapts well to our garden habitat especially if it has trees and shrubs. There are specially made Hedgehog houses retailed now, but frankly the compost heap is better, and will also provide a source of food.

It is said that an adult Hedgehog can eat 200gms of insects a night which should include some slugs; well worth enticing them into the garden.