Getting ready for winter?

How should I get my garden "ready for winter"?
I collect all the autumn leaves and put them in bin bags to break down. I spread a good layer of my compost on all the bare soil, especially round the fruit trees, and just leave it. The worms do the rest. I prune the soft fruit bushes (red and green gooseberries, red and blackcurrants) to get a good shape with a hollow centre, for ventilation and also for ease of picking.
But should I cut back perennials to about 6 inches? I thought Yes, but now I've read that leaving all the summer growth in place until the spring, helps protect the plant and its roots from frost.
Do I need to spread horticultural fleece over my flowerbeds?
Should I cut back clematis? I know the answer is that it depends on the type of clematis, but how do I tell the types apart?
Do I need to do anything to protect ferns? Some of which are newly planted and I don't want to lose them in their first winter.
Anything needed to protect bulbs? I've planted an awful lot of them in the past two or three weeks. And how on earth do I protect them against the squirrels? They dig the bulbs up to eat them! Except daffodils and narcissi which somehow they know are poisonous!
How can I best protect my apple trees against insect damage next year? They suffer badly from leaf-curl and some grubs that seem to bore into the leaves. Either way the fruit yield is badly affected.
Do I just have to accept that my plus, greengage and damson trees simply fruit one year then not another? What can I do to encourage - or force - them to fruit every year?
Anything needed to protect Penstemons. I have quite a collection now but many are leggy and don't produce many flowers.
How do I best get my perlagoniums through the winter and off to an early start next spring? I don't have much space to bring them into the house. Only a cellar which is dark, cool and very damp. Is it too late to take cuttings for next year? How do I do it? Do I have to buy special potting compost?
I planted lots of bulbs in bulb compost in pots and bowls about two or three weeks ago. Hyacinths, narcissi, snowdrops etc. They are now all in a cool, dark cellar. No shoots have emerged at all yet. When do I bring them up into the light? And close to a window? Cool or warm room? I'm fed up with leggy plants which look awful and fall over. I want compact plants with good, solid blooms.
Orchids. I have three on a shady windowsill in the bathroom. The temperature shoots upand down this time of year but it's humid in there, they are not in direct sunlight and they seem generally happy. But do they just have a mind of their own? The flowers seem fine, then they all go brown and drop. Then the plant is like aa empty stick for months. Until the plant suddenly decides to put out leaves and eventually flowers that are never as good as the original ones. I water very rarely and occasionally add some orchid flowering food (rather than the orchid leaf food) or do I need to feed with one feed then the other? All a bit complicated.
Do I just accept that my kitchen window-sill pot of basil is now dying off and I'll need to buy a fresh pot in the spring?
Any advice please. I'm a real novice at all this! Many thanks.

 

well err, yes and no.