I found the best way to harden plants was to cover them with Fleece but NOT to let the fleece touch the foliage. it keeps the frost off and also lets water through.
 Many years ago, farmers here used to cover fields of plants with fleece,so i thought whats good enough for them is good enough for me. A lovely sunny day here but still a chilly wind, yesterday was back to winter, bitterly cold.Bed changed, washer on soon be time for a visit to the club. have a visit to opticians first, I know they cant help , but hope springs eternal.

Have you considered a cold frame Val. there  are some reasonably priced ones on e bay.
With greenhouses and cold frames etc, whatever size you buy its never big enough.

Yes I 've got a tiny greenhouse thing, its some shelves with a plastic cover but the last plastic cover went to the greenhouse in the sky and between you and me, I can't find the new one I bought. I think its in the shed somewhere but as Frank thinks I'm scatty enough I daren't ask him to help me move things to find it. Although he's off tomorrow if I go out there rummaging he'll come and offer to help.There's a method in my madness. At the moment they are on a milk trolley, like the greenhouse but it has wheels, its sitting by the patio door to get all the light, I had to move them from the window sill. I guess if I can't find the plastic cover I could drape some fleece around the trolley. Every spring I say its the last time, I'm not sewing seeds anymore but I always do.

White Alysum,  blue and red lobelia always looks good, cheap and easy to grow.

  Well thanks for that but I meant as a retainer , a raised bed edge, I don't think, pretty as they are, lobelias and alysum will hold the earth. I'm not having it high but just need something to define it. Preferably nothing expensive or bought.

Frank said he's got some old batons in the garage, he's going to nail them together for me. I'm quite excited getting my own veggie plots. We've got loads of tadpoles in the pond, what do they eat? I've nothing in there that could feed them and the pond has only been there for a year. I do have some plants but when they get bigger frogs eat slugs and snails don't they? I'm not putting them in the pond seems cruel.

Val, have you no plants in your pond, if not maybe you could get some from a pet store, that caters, advice too.