How to feed robins in your winter garden

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

You can help Santa's little messengers by providing them with food and a safe place to nest. Picture: iStock

Santa's little messengers are all around the gardens at the moment, keeping an eye on us to see if we are all behaving ourselves and whilst I presume the naughty amongst us will no longer get a bag of coal and instead will be given a bag of eco-friendly heat logs, I still want to make the “good list”, whatever the chances.

If you have been naughty over the last 11 months, then it’s probably best now to resort to a bit of good, old-fashioned bribery and do your best to get the robins onside by being particularly nice to them.