Gardeners have been told to protect their gardens as the winter weather sets in, if they want to make sure that they're in the best possible condition for next year.

After composting our summer plants and cutting back and tying up the perennials for the cold days and weeks ahead, gardening expert, Ruth Hayes says it's time to 'protect and feed' the soil before the wintry conditions wreak havoc.

And, she offered a simple four-word instruction to any gardener this November, as she says 'never leave soil bare'.

She told the Amateur Gardening magazine: "The instruction to 'never leave soil bare' is an important one to heed, because empty soil is extremely vulnerable to being compacted or eroded by winter weather.

"It will already have been depleted by plant growth over the previous months, so one of the most important jobs of autumn is to protect and nourish it for the next year."

Her top tip for protecting and nourishing soil for the coming weeks is adding green manures into the soil. For those that have never come across green manures, they are crops grown with the intention of building solid organic matter and soil structure.

Once this is done, she said: "The plants' roots knit together to help the internal integrity of the soil, and the top growth protects the surface from wind and rain."

But, if gardeners opt not to use that method, Ruth also pointed towards leaving pea, bean and sweet pea roots in place "as they will fix nitrogen in the soil which is essential for healthy plant growth".

She said: "This is known as mulching and the mulch can be well-rotted compost or manure, leaf mould, wood chippings and even grass, though the latter is best used in small amounts and during the summer months."