Install an insect hotel in your garden to provide a sheltered spot for wildlife to take cover for the cold winter months.

Dahlias cannot tolerate prolonged low temperatures or – worse – soggy, cold soil, so they need to spend winter somewhere dry and frost-free. However don’t be too quick to take them out of the ground, as they continue to flower for as long as temperatures stay above freezing. Wait until the foliage and stems have been blackened by frost and you know they have finished for the year.

Most of the commonly-used home remedies against slug and snail attacks don’t work, according to recent research by the Royal Horticultural Society.