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nigrescens, pictured above, looks stately and structural — a simple feature anyone could replicate.Growing hostas in pots is also great for anyone troubled by slugs and snails — and who isn't? In addition to H. nigrescens, I grow a host of other hostas

- David's were all eaten by slugs, while Tamsin's disappeared overnight (probably also eaten by slugs). Despite all the attention I lavished on mine, including extra watering and a weekly nettle feed, just two of the six made it above 2m (2.24m and 2.35m

piles, under sheds and in compost heaps. They breed from early to late-summer, giving birth to up to seven hoglets at a time, and feed on earthworms, beetles, caterpillars, and - happily for gardeners - slugs.I've never seen a hedgehog where I live

Hedgehogs need somewhere to hibernate in winter, so here's your chance to provide them with a cosy home. This wooden hedgehog house should entice them away from bonfire stacks and ensure they stay in your garden ready to feast on slugs in the spring

. Keep them well watered and ventilate the greenhouse on hot days.As strawberries develop, cut off any long runners that grow as these will divert energy from the crop.Check pot-grown plants carefully as the fruit develops for signs of slug damage. And it

As soon as your strawberry plants have finished fruiting it's time to clear away all the straw or matting to discourage slugs and snails from nibbling at the plants. It's also a good time to raise some new plants from their abundant runners

Keeping garden pests at bayAphidsSlugsMealybugsEarwigs

of the plant, it turns yellowish-brown and becomes a slimy rot.Promptly remove any infected parts of the lettuce. Try to reduce the risk of damage to lettuce leaves by drowning slugs and snails in beer traps, or go on a night-time patrol and remove them by hand

for something easier to grow like courgettes. I think it's a combination of cooler temperatures slowing down germination and the wet weather increasing slug and snail populations beyond belief - certainly around the misty damp hills of Bath anyhow! I wonder

to be about right for me and Lizzy.As to other crops, we're madly trying to eat up all the lettuces and salad stuff which has grown fantastically this year, once they grew beyond the reach of the slugs and snails. Paul's sick of the sight of salad leaves