Or, stand the plants outside by day, but bring them inside on evenings when frost is forecast. If the weather becomes unseasonably frosty after planting, spread horticultural fleece over your new display each night, but remove it during the day. Some tender perennials will survive in the ground in winter if the roots are protected by a thick mulch or by bracken or straw held with a sacking or netting cover. Lift others and overwinter in a cool greenhouse. Take cuttings Alternatively, take cuttings in late summer and overwinter the resulting plants in a greenhouse or frost-free frame.
Regular checks Check plants over regularly, removing dead flowers and dying or damaged leaves.
Where overcrowding becomes a problem, thin some of the stems with care. Tender shrub care Fuchsias, salvia species, several solanums, brugmansias, abutilons and Mimulus aurantiacus are free-flowering plants that are happy outdoors from May to October, but are frost tender. They are easy to propagate from cuttings, but it's also worth trying to bring mature plants through winter. Take cuttings in case the large plants perish. Getting started Tender perennial care Tender shrub care For further ideas on plants for this garden, use our plant search .