Although now living in London, Mr Cox has a strong sense of relationship with the countryside as he grew up in Higham Ferrers.

He said: "I was an inaugural pupil of The Ferrers School (now The Ferrers Specialist Arts College), and our house in Higham was surrounded by countryside, but not any more as it's all been built on.

"However, this exposure to wildlife at any early age was a great influence.

"The family garden was what really got me interested in gardening in the first place. It's where I steeped rose petals in jam jars to make my own perfume, grew my own carrots after being given my own veg patch and just spent time having fun.

"Our garden was on the edge of countryside so I also spent days looking for wildflowers and watching wildlife. My grandparents lived in Rushden and my grandad was a great influence on me. He had a wonderful greenhouse full of tomatoes and used to take me to his allotment on the back of his moped.

"I am now 40 and have a seven-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter and have packed my small garden in London with plants to attract the wildlife. "Through the book I want to encourage other children to do the same as natural habitats are disappearing fast."

The book, RHS Wildlife Garden, is suitable for children no matter where they live as with many exciting projects using pots and window boxes included on its pages, you do not even have to have a garden.

Step-by-step projects include building a bird bath, a bee house, a bat box and bird feeders, and other activities show how to track mammals and go pond-dipping. There's also a list of the top 10 plants to attract butterflies, bees and birds. The book ends with a photo-gallery of common garden creatures with information about each one, allowing
children to identify the wildlife they see.

His fourth book, 101 Ideas for Small Gardens, published by BBC Books, was published this month.