keeping geraniums (and other pot plants) over winter

I've brought in my scented geraniums because they're tender but I leave my pelargoniums in hanging baskets outside. They lived through the snow of last winter and I also have a trough outside which has come through two snowy winters and is still in full bloom now.
I think it depends on where you live. I live in Sheffield which has cold, frosty winters but my garden is tiny and has high fences around it so it is sheltered from biting winds.

Sorry to sound pedantic about the pelargonium bit but I learned my gardening from a professional who went spare whenever I called them geraniums so I never do now. I love them because they seem to be so hardy in my garden and they don't mind my forgetting to water them.