Far from being mere pests, snails are at the heart of a healthy garden ecosystem. Discover the many ways they contribute and how you can work with – not against – them for a thriving plot

Professor Buczacki is a borticultural expert, weiter and former chair of Gardeners Question Time

Our new columnist on the joys of untidy gardening in April and how she stops slugs in their tracks

Spring is a wonderful time on the edible plot – the season stretches in front of us, full of hope, and everything is bursting into life. This, however, includes common garden pests who are springing i

On a summer’s day, your garden is full of activity, with hoverflies, butterflies and bees flying from flower to flower. But that is only one slice of the action on your plot. In the ground beneath you

The slimy science behind these molluscs’ movements