THE POTTED GARDEN:
WINTER COLOUR
Colour can be sadly lacking in gardens in January but a simple way of bringing a little bit of sunshine back into the outdoors is by using containers packed with hardy plants that provide colour and texture
Make sure you place pots where they can be seen – in areas close to your home, in view of visitors or in places where they can be appreciated from the warmth and comfort of indoors – such as outside the kitchen window or on a window sill.
The upside of colder weather is that flowers last longer and even the humble evergreen such as bay, laurel or viburnum looks stunning edged with a touch of winter morning frost.
Some of the best plants for winter colour are classic favourites that still bring a smile to the face in deep mid winter and, outside of prolonged snow and rain, can survive into the spring. Helleborus niger – also known as the Christmas rose – is a stylish starting point and has a purity of colour that makes it ideal as a single planting or as a centre piece in a mixed container. It has clusters of saucer-shaped flowers in white, pink, green, mauve or smoky purple. The winter flowering Viola (looking like a mini pansy) is a really cheerful choice for pots and planters and comes in a variety of colours from white through to yellow, orange, mauve, purple and blue. Erica (also known as Heather) brings a hint of the highlands to any seasonal container with its stems of delicate flowers in white, pink, red, magenta or purple.
Before you get going on planting make sure you take on board these tips from the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) for growing in containers during winter:
• Remember that plants grow very little in winter so make sure you start with good-sized plants and use sufficient numbers of plants for the size of container to make an impact from the start
• Position your container where it will get as much light as possible during the winter months to ensure plant foliage remains green and healthy
• Water containers carefully in winter, making sure you check the compost regularly as it can soon dry out in mild spells. Smaller plants are more susceptible to over or under watering
• It is not necessary to feed container plants during the winter
• Raise containers off the ground on pot feet or bricks to aid drainage and help prevent the freezing conditions that cause pots to crack
• Choose frost-proof terracotta or containers made of plastic, fibreglass or wood. Bubble wrap containers in severe weather to reduce damage to plant roots.
