Storm damage: how to restore your garden after extreme weather Protect roses Many roses are still carrying leaf and flower, making their branches vulnerable in the gales. These top-heavy stems can lever roots out of the soil as the wind rocks them back and forth, exposing the roots and graft. Prune them back now, using sharp secateurs, even if there's still lots of leaf. Cut back hybrid teas to a few inches. Floribundas are best taken down to between 12-18in (30-45cm). Old-fashioned and shrub roses need a gentler regime and are generally reduced by a third. Check that ramblers and climbers are securely tied in, and gently firm in all roses with your feet, covering any exposed roots with soil. Patrol woody plants Check all trees and shrubs for exposed roots and damaged branches. A snip now may save more devastation. If the tree has a tree tie make sure that it isn't chafing the trunk. If the roots are exposed, cover them. Tidy up debris Loose branches lying on the soil can do a lot of damage as they get blown across the ground. Pick them up and put them out of the wind. Remove clumps of soggy leaves close to plants and in the gullies between lawn and border. These will be harbouring small slugs-in-waiting due to the warm conditions. Keep off the grass Wait for the weather to improve before wheeling your barrow across the damp lawn. Developing patience, as well as optimism and stoicism, is essential for a gardener and a good mix for life as well. Look to the future Sort out all your sundries, because we might be in for an early spring. Buy bean poles, labels, strings, pens, seeds, onion sets and seed potatoes in the lull between storms. Stay calm and pray The weather will eventually change and dry up. Spring will arrive and almost certainly earlier than last year. I, just like you, long for a dry period in the garden. I also hope that the jet stream doesn't change direction and deliver a blast of Arctic weather that freezes the ground solid. If it does my snowdrops, already well above the ground, will hate it. But if it happens, it happens. News from the front line At Great Comp in Kent, the curator William Dyson has lost six huge conifers. Two of them crushed treasures that include a prized witch hazel and a magnolia. He is also mourning four large specimen trees, including a mature Mexican weeping pine (Pinus patula). "Compared to the 200 trees we lost in 1987, it's nothing," he says. He's still upbeat, despite six days without electricity over Christmas. In fact, he's grateful that the mild weather allowed his beloved salvias to survive without any heating, otherwise it would have been a disaster for the nursery. It's the sandy soil at Great Comp that makes it difficult for plants to develop deep roots. There are often losses but, on the bright side, it dries out quickly. Great Dixter, the garden of the late Christopher Lloyd, is on heavy clay. Head gardener Fergus Garrett continually improves and aerates the puddingy mixture with home-made compost. This encourages good root growth that anchors plants and means they are capable of defying drought as well as storms. Coarse horticultural grit is also added, which stays in the soil, so is only needed once. Also, when working in the borders, the garden team stand on boards. This prevents soil compaction, which hinders drainage. Great Dixter is mourning the loss of a wild pear tree that had framed the front of the house for hundreds of years. "It was there when the Lloyds bought Great Dixter in 1909 and it was a magnificent tree," Fergus says. "But you have to get your head down and be positive," he adds, mournfully. Age had weakened the old pear and it's easy to forget that plants are never forever. To keep its memory alive, spoons will be made from its durable wood. READ: What to do in the garden this week: check shrubs for storm damage