Plant winter pots and baskets for colour

Use this guide in October or early November to brighten a doorstep, balcony or window sill through the darker months. Have containers with drainage holes, peat-free multipurpose compost, crocks or grit, pot feet, and your chosen plants and bulbs ready.

Step by step

1. Choose plants that can take a UK winter

   Pick a mix of hardy plants: an upright centrepiece such as a small conifer, skimmia or grass like carex; colourful fillers such as heuchera, winter heather (Erica carnea), cyclamen, violas or pansies; and trailers such as ivy or creeping Jenny. Check plant labels for hardiness and choose cyclamen sold for outdoor use rather than indoor types. Fewer, larger plants close together look better in winter, because they will not grow much until spring.