Garden centres will be doing brisk trade in Mediterranean plants, succulents, palms and exotics this spring as the thaw reveals just how many plants have been killed by the cold. This winter has been reported to be the worst year for gardeners since 1890. Certainly, my borders look gap-toothed after the third cold season in a row. A leptospermum and a myrtle sit black and petrified and a prize 10ft melianthus that went to ground last winter hasn't been seen since.
Common plants such as dahlias and ginger lilies have been hit too, as gardeners often leave roots in the ground as an easier alternative to lifting and overwintering in a frost-free greenhouse. They can't survive prolonged periods below -6C – frost slowly creeps down and turns them to mush. Snow can help, however. Though crushingly heavy, it insulates above ground and below like an igloo. I noticed dahlias in the Midlands survived last winter's onslaught thanks to a quilt of white, whereas those in my snow-free Devon garden froze to death.
The trend for flowers coming into bloom earlier will be reversed, but that's no bad thing. Early comers such as snowdrops melt faster than a ice-lolly when it's warm. A deep chill also helps ripen wood on fruit trees, increasing the amount of flowers so bumping up crops. And pests such as lily beetles, aphids and vine weevils are killed by cold or eaten by birds as they increasingly come into gardens to find food.
As winter is far from over, use any lulls to clear away soggy leaves and invest in horticultural fleece to wrap round the growing tips of half-hardy plants and containers too big to move under cover. Provided soil is neither frozen nor sodden, spreading a 2in layer of composted bark over the tender roots should blanket what's left of any surviving plants.
Toby Buckland is an author and former presenter of Gardeners' World
