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It comes as no surprise to me that slugs and snails have been voted the most-hated garden pests in the Gardeners' World Awards. Surely no garden in the country can be immune from their devastating activities, unless it's a garden covered in concrete

harsh sun. Organic gardeners usually refer to companion plants as those deterring pests in some way. Tagetes planted alongside tomatoes and crops is a good example, where the strong pungent scent of the tagetes foliage helps mask the scent of the crop

Parts of my garden have resembled something of a battleground this year. Why is it that all my favourite plants and crops have their very own pest to contend with? Grow lilies and you'll be hard pressed not to find lily beetle munching them. My

, but venture into the garden and you'll see another side to this menace.Get outside early on cold mornings with camera in hand and you might be lucky enough to capture images of the ephemeral ice crystal patterns and designs left by Jack Frost. They

Birds bring gardens alive, and in so many ways they make gardening worthwhile. It's lovely having them as companions, delving into newly dug soil for worms and pests, but better still when they take up residence and make a nest.What better accolade

A friend recently showed me a photograph (left) of his rotting plum tree, with woodlice crawling around the affected area. Were the woodlice a pest, and how should he get rid of them? This reminded me of a plum tree in my own family garden when I

). For now, the important thing to remember is that frogs, toads, hedgehogs and birds can all help the gardener in the battle against slugs and snails, but if you don't have pests to feed these welcome predators they're not going to take up residence

over trees and soil in search of overwintering pests around the garden. Welcome them in with food and water, provide them with hedges and shrubs for shelter, and they'll reward you by helping control unwanted pests. What's a pest to you is food for them

surprise guests joining us too.Fighting pests is one theme we'll cover, as many people are hesitant about using pesticides around the garden, particularly on things they're going to eat. One way to combat greenfly and aphids is to encourage beneficial

Watching blue tits hopping in and out of one of my nest boxes at the weekend, I was reminded of another important job for this month. I need to open all the boxes around my garden and clear out the old nesting material.I know that one of my boxes