24/09/2026
If you’re looking to add colour with new pots and planters or even transform your tired summer displays with freshness for autumn and winter, here are a few tips and thoughts for you to consider;
- Clean out your existing pots once the flowers have finished and refresh them with new compost. Don’t forget to mix in some drainage using grit, sand or stones to keep those roots from sitting wet in the winter months.
- For plants with acidic preferences be sure to use ericaceous compost, mix in some granular feed along with your compost to support healthy growth.
- There are plenty of options for plants that brighten your winter garden spaces so there’s no need to look out onto empty pots and planters or tired old bedding plants. Here are just a few to get started with;
- Evergreen low spreading shrubs such as the berry laden Gaultheria which is great for wildlife, the variegated foliage of Euonymus ‘Emerald Gaiety’ or the beauty of flowering Vincas. Small evergreen ferns give great texture with examples like ‘Harts Tongue’. Conifers make great additions and points of difference for foliage textures, some with vibrant greens or orange tips, fastigiate / columnar varieties make great centrepieces such as Chamaecyparis ‘Ellwoodii’ or prostrate - spreading Junipers will creep over the edges and add interest. Hedera (Ivy) is a fantastic addition for edges of planting arrangements and will cascade and spread nicely.
- For some flowering colour and instant impact, late autumn bedding such as Violas and Pansies should then return in the spring. Hellebores make a fantastic focal point and will flower late winter into spring. Cyclamen will cheer up an arrangement with interesting foliage and beautiful flowers, hardy options such as Cyclamen coum and Cyclamen hederifolium work best for longer term planting.
- For larger pots and planters, evergreen shrubs options such as Skimmias, Viburnums and Hollies make for big impact. Formal structures can also be achieved using Buxus / Box or Ilex crenata shapes with conical and spherical options or even Picea ‘Conica’.
- Pop in and see us for any advice and to get a selection for your garden or even a read
