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, and water clumps with a generous helping of liquid feedPrepare to cover fruit tree blossom with horticultural fleece to protect flowers if frost is forecast Sow seeds of the following crops outside this week: beetroot, lettuce, salad leaves, watercress

Tidy up piles of flowerpots and debris that could harbour snailsRaise patio containers on feet or bricks, to ensure their compost drains properlyAvoid walking on lawns covered with heavy frost, as you'll kill the grassProvide birds with fresh water

Cover soil with cloches to warm it for early sowingsFinish winter pruning fruit trees and soft fruitsCut stems of autumn-fruiting raspberries to soil levelChit seed potatoes, standing them in trays in a light but frost-free positionPlant Jerusalem

Cover rhubarb with an old bucket to exclude light and encourage early pickings of long tender stalksPrune gooseberry bushes to open up the centre of the bush to improve air circulationChit seed potatoes in trays in a bright, frost-free position

SchizostylisExotic, elegant, yet eminently adaptable, it's time the overlooked schizostylis took a leading role in our gardens.Schizostylis coccinea flowers from late-summer until the first frosts. It has dainty and delicate stems and flowers

Protect you plants from the cold weather and wrap half-hardy bananas, palms, cannas and ginger lilies in fleece and straw if they grow in sheltered positions. Alternatively lift the plants, pot or crate them up and bring into a frost-free greenhouse

hat and socks were de rigueur for the appropriately attired allotmenteer. And, admittedly a week later than scheduled, the great tidy up began.As I predicted, everything had been turned to mush by the previous frosts; courgette plants, squashes, beans

with fresh water - do try to do this when topping up feeders.Any tender plants still left outside will, or should I say won’t be alive now! Even those brought under cover and into an unheated greenhouse will probably have been frosted. That doesn’t mean they

Find out how to prepare brugmansia for the winter, by following Chris Beardshaw's video guide, including advice on how to take cuttings after moving the plant into a frost-free greenhouse.autumnMore advice on propagating plantsHow to take root

Follow Rachel de Thame's video advice on planting up a container of summer-flowering bulbs, with advice on choosing healthy bulbs, planting depths and protection from frost.springMore advice on planting bulbsLayering bulbs in a potPlanting lily