Cold comfort for pot plants in need of a place of sanctuary

So don't just close the greenhouse door and think you've done all you can to keep treasured plants safe and sound – get outside and move patio plants which ask for very little while they help make the garden a place of year-round interest.

Pots that sit directly on paving slabs are more likely to suffer from poor drainage, and frosts are more easily transferred from paving to make a frozen rootball.

To improve drainage, lift pots off the ground, elevating them perhaps with decorative terracotta feet or even half-bricks.

Move the really tender potted plants close to a south- or west-facing wall and wrap them trees in fleece.

If you have pots topped off with winter pansies and violas, these need pride of place as their happy faces continue to bloom. they also appreciate a position clear of constant shade and cold.

And while you're out there, walls and paving in shaded areas which may be showing green growth of moulds and algae can be scrubbed clean. Use elbow grease or a proprietary cleaner.