Winter wonderland

’Tis the season for bright containers, as Toby looks at some of the breeds designed to add cheer to chilly spots

- Toby

WHEN planting winter containers, I can’t help thinking of Joan Rivers and her famous saying, ‘The light at the end of the tunnel is usually another train.’

Planting anything is a leap of faith, but especially in winter, and with winter bedding, who knows what the weather is going to throw at it? When I first started gardening, ‘Universal’ pansies were still in their infancy. Bred for their ability to bloom in winter, they were like primary school children in charge of a paint factory: colourful, but far from reliable. That hasn’t stopped parks’ departments from using pansies to fill beds – they may look promising now, but come spring they are often conspicuous by their absence, with weeds where the pansies should be.