The ever-increasing number of tender plants on offer may not withstand sustained cold without some form of protection. How you protect your plants from the effects of cold depends on the type of plants and the situation they are growing in.
Plants that are trained against walls or tender plants growing in the open ground can be protected with simple, fleece-covered frames. Alternatively, sandwich a layer of bracken leaves or straw between two large sections of chicken wire and use this to cover plants during frosty evenings. Tender bulbs, corms and tender, herbaceous plants (that die back) should be covered with a thick mulch of manure, straw or old leaves to prevent the soil from freezing. In the spring, new shoots can be protected with a loose layer of straw or a bell-cloche.
Evergreen plants will benefit from a thick layer of mulch around their bases to keep the soil frost-free. This will allow them to take up moisture during periods of cold weather and stop them from becoming dehydrated.
Tender plants should be grown in pots so that they can be moved inside during bad weather. Take cuttings of those that cannot be grown in pots and overwinter these in a warm greenhouse, ready for planting in spring.
Protect the crowns of tree ferns and insulate their trunks by wrapping them in layers of fleece or hessian stuffed with straw. Cordylines and palms should be treated similarly, by tying their leaves into bunches, to protect their crowns.

The effects of cold
Cold weather and particularly frost, causes the water in plant cells to freeze, damaging the cell wall. Frost-damaged plants are easy to spot, their growth becomes limp, blackened and distorted. Evergreen plants often turn brown and the leaves of tender plants take on a translucent appearance. Frost problems are often made worse where plants face the morning sun, as this causes them to defrost quickly, rupturing their cell walls.

Minimising damage
Prevention is far better than cure, so try to minimise the damaging effects of cold on your plants:
Avoid golden or variegated plant varieties that are often more tender.
Choose plants that are reliably hardy in the area where you live.
Avoid high-nitrogen fertilisers as they encourage plants to make lots of sappy leafy growth that is particularly susceptible to damage, especially early and late in the year.
Make sure tender specimens are planted in a sheltered spot, under large trees and shrubs or against walls, give them some heat and protection during the winter.
Ensure that plants with tender flower buds or shoots are not planted in east-facing sites.
Leave the old growth of tender plants unpruned over the winter months. This will help to protect the central crown of the plant and take the brunt of any frost damage. If plants are cut back hard in autumn new growth could be damaged by frost.
Cold air and frost always descend to the lowest point in a garden so avoid planting tender plants in obvious frost pockets.

Wood is potentially one of the most environmentally friendly materials we can use in the garden: it’s a natural material that can be sustainably grown, it takes less energy than other hard materials to turn into products such as planks, panels and furniture, and it absorbs harmful carbon dioxide as it grows. But there’s a huge demand for it.
The shortage of fence panels earlier this year, when many householders needed to replace ones felled by the storms, was put down to European producers exporting more to China and Dubai - and in parts of the world trees are being felled in a way that damages the forests, the people who live in them, and the wider environment.

The growing, harvesting and processing of new timber uses energy and water. Where possible, use recycled or reclaimed wood. Re-use the wood you already have, or offer it to a local re-use project.
Buy locally produced wood products that are FSC certified, which will mean less transportation costs.
If the wood you want comes from abroad, make sure that it's FSC certified, with a chain of custody number.
With any wood that doesn't carry the FSC logo, find out what kind it is and check to see if it's from an endangered species (see good wood guides). If it is, try to find an alternative.
Support the work of conservation groups such as WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and The Woodland Trust to implement responsible forest management in the logging industry worldwide.

Many pests and diseases can be minimised by good gardening practices such as careful feeding and watering, crop rotation, and choosing plants that suit the conditions.
Use barriers such as mesh against flying creatures and products such as copper tape, rings, grit or mats against slugs and snails.
Try biological controls such as nematodes which use one living organism to control the pest without harming humans, pets and other beneficial creatures. These work very effectively but require a minimum temperature to work, and are expensive for using on large areas.
Encourage natural predators, such as ladybirds and lacewings, by creating wildlife habitats and hiding places in your garden.
Try companion planting to deter pests.
Choose plant varieties that show resistance to pests and diseases.
Avoid overfeeding young plants – lots of lush growth will attract slugs and snails.
Use chemicals as a last resort, making sure you use the right product for the pest, disease or weed. Don’t buy more than you need, and dilute exactly as directed on the label. Apply it at the right stage of a pest’s lifecycle. Spray in early morning or late evening, when beneficial insects are not foraging. Do not spray if it is windy or about to rain.
Store chemicals in their original containers in a cool dark place, out of reach of children and pets. Spray surplus diluted product on level, bare soil or over an uncultivated area such as gravel or a driveway, away from drains, ponds or watercourses.