Buy your bulbs from the garden centre early in the season so you have the pick of the bunch when it comes to variety and colour. Some bulbs such as daffodils, chionodoxa, snowdrop, winter aconite, crocus and anemone blanda appreciate being planted in September. Early planting in pots of Bulb Planting Compost is a great way to encourage these bulbs to develop a huge root system before the onset of winter. This ensures the plant can take up plenty of energy next spring so the bulb and its offsets produce flowers for many years to come.
When planting in pots or in soil borders try to get the spacing right allowing at least the width of a bulb between each one. Cover the bulbs to the recommended depth and enrich the surface with a slow release fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro Slow Release Feriliser. This will release nutrients while the soil is warm enough and plants are growing yet will stop completely during cold weather so nutrients are not wasted. Best of all, a slow release plant food like this will hold on to enough nutrients so that it is able to feed emerging bulbs in the spring when they need all the energy to form new flower buds for the subsequent year's blooms.
For winter display you can't rely on flowering plants to produce colour or interest throughout the year. That's why you need to introduce evergreen plants and variegated leaf forms to mix with your chosen flowers. There are several very useful herbs that are evergreen for most of the year, including Thyme and Sage. The common thyme is a hardy perennial with small yellowish leaves and small purple flowers whilst the variegated sage has cream and green splashed leaves with new foliage carrying attractive pink edges. Both herbs can be pinched out regularly to provide useful fresh flavourings to soups and casseroles.
The introduction of a silver leafed perennial such as Cineraria maritima ‘Silverdust' will supply attractive intricate leaves that will decorate your pot during all but the harshest winters.
Top off your pot with violas in an interesting colour. The small pansy-like plants are generally self-coloured although varieties with ‘faces' and ‘whiskers' are available. These will flower on and off throughout the year depending on temperature and sunshine. To break the sharp edges of the pot place a couple of variegated ivies or other trailing bedding plants so that the leaves trail over the pot. When put together the collection will provide interest and colour year round. Just remember to water when it is dry, even in winter.
Do visit your garden centre to see the wide variety of plants that they have available for winter containers. If you need ideas look for shrubs such as euonymus, viburnum, senecio and hebe. For winter flowers think about Universal pansies, polyanthus and Daisies (Bellis). Small bulbs such as crocus, anemone and dwarf narcissi such as ‘Minnow' and ‘Tete a Tete' can also be pushed below the surface of the compost to provide interesting flowers in spring.
