With Christmas and the start of the winter season just around the corner, temperatures are likely to remain on the chilly side in the UK. While this may be the perfect weather to get you into the festive season, it's not ideal for your plants. Frost damages plants by causing the water inside their cells to freeze and expand, which can break the cell walls, causing them to wilt and become discoloured.

Protecting plants from frost can be difficult, especially if you've got multiple plants in your garden to protect. However, Elise Harlock, a floral expert at Prestige Flowers, has shared a surprising item that can be used to protect plants and flowers from freezing temperatures.

Rather than buying plant fleece, which can be expensive, the expert recommends using bubble wrap.

She said: "Only one pound and easy to find, bubble wrap is a perfect solution for you to protect flowers from frost without breaking your bank."

Elise explained how bubble wrap works to protect plants.

She said: "Eliminating frost damage is often about insulation and airflow.

"Bubble wrap works like a mini greenhouse; it traps in warmth while still letting in light, keeping your plants and flowers protected from freezing temperatures."

Simply wrap the bubble wrap around pots or over greenhouse panels to protect the plants.

Bubble wrap creates a layer of trapped air that acts to slow down heat loss, which keeps in a few critical extra degrees of warmth during chilly nights.

Wrapping bubble wrap around plants could be the difference between thriving flowers and wilting stems.

Elise added: "You don't need anything fancy - even recycled packaging works well.

"Just wrap a few layers around your pots or window boxes, secure it with string or pegs, and remove it once temperatures rise during the day."

Bubble wrap can be bought from eBay for 99p and from Amazon for £1.99. Sainsbury's also sells it for £4.75.

If you don't want to use bubble wrap, you can also use old sheets.