It happens every year: April showers make us want, well, April flowers, not to mention warm-weather veggies.

Then there's a cold snap, a freeze and 75 black, mushy tomato plants in the back yard.

Louie Favorite / AJC (ENLARGE)

Walter Reeves demonstrates the right way to protect plants from cold weather. Use black plastic, but never clear.

• Check out our garden channel • Get more advice from Walter Reeves

"It happens often," says Louise Estabrook, an agriculture and natural resource agent for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension of Fulton County. "We get spring fever and we put stuff out before it's really time. I was tempted, as was everyone else."

Even if temperatures don't drop to freezing tonight, it could get close enough to cause damage. Perennials and cold-weather vegetables like lettuce, Brussels sprouts and peas will be fine. Annuals and veggies like zucchinis, peppers, eggplants are in trouble.

Overeager gardeners, there's still time to save your plants today.

"You need to do it tonight to keep yourself covered," Estabrook says.

Here are five things Estabrook recommends to keep your garden intact.

1. Cover plants. Use a sheet, either plastic or cotton. Even a bed sheet will work. Don't weigh plants down — that will kill them, too. Instead, build a frame, like a tent, and cover them.

2. Protect the ground from freezing. Use straw or other mulch to protect the soil around plant bases.

3. Make a mini-greenhouse. If you have a supply of milk cartons or soda bottles, cut the tops off and cover each plant. It's a good method if you have just a few plants, but probably inconvenient for large gardens.

4. Shelter moveable plants. If you've pushed your house plants outside, bring them in. If you haven't planted yet, pull them back into the garage.

5. Remember to uncover plants later. It won't be cold for long. To protect your plants, remove the cover before the mornings warm up, or it will get too hot for them.