Welcoming winter pots

Plant up containers now to create a cheering show, using flowers, foliage and scent, at the front door throughout winter, says Hazel Sillver

- Hazel Sillver

IN the bleak depths of winter, a colourful show of pot plants brightens the spirits. Whether it’s troughs of dwarf irises around the front door or large pots of bright-red dogwood on the patio, containers of winter plants inject much-needed colour – and they can be planted now.

Flowers are usually the stars of the show and many provide vital nectar for winter-foraging wildlife. Some – such as the buff-tailed bumblebee – are increasingly seen during the colder months, as a result of climate change.

Even butterflies (including the red admiral) can sometimes be spotted hunting for food in the winter sun. They adore heathers, such as ‘Katia’ (white) and ‘Furzey’ (pink), and will feed on hellebores, aconites, and snowdrops, all of which can be grown in small pots. Pollinators will also take nectar from the beautifully scented yellow flowers of mahonia – a large shrub that can be enjoyed in a big container.

Foliage plants

Other winter-flowering shrubs for a large pot include Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ and Lonicera fragrantissima, which fill the air with a heady scent. Underplant them with low-growing flowers, such as violas, and show the flowers off with a variety of foliage.