Gardens across the country are under water

Following the recent torrential rain and gale-force winds followed by widespread flooding. The good news is that flash floods don't harm plants and they'll almost certainly survive: but this latest bad weather comes at the end of several months of high rainfall, and soil that stays soggy for months on end is a different story. Follow these top tips to help your plants survive the deluge:

Keep off the soil to avoid it compacting and making things even worse for roots struggling to draw up enough oxygen.

Remove shoots from damaged plants: you'll see yellowing, wilting leaves and soft areas at their base and shoots will die back.

Don't eat crops which were near to harvest when the flooding took place: they may be contaminated by pollutants in the floodwaters

Fertilise your plants once the floods have subsided and they've started growing again. A balanced fertiliser like Growmore, available at the garden centre, should help them recover.

Improve conditions if you get flooded regularly: grow plants in raised beds (there are kits available at the garden centre) and dig plenty of organic soil improver into the ground to help it drain more freely.