GARDENING
Creating colourful winter containers Once your pots, window boxes and hanging baskets are empty of last summer’s flowers, create some wonderful winter cheer by replanting for winter and early spring. Strategically placed at key viewpoints from indoors and at frequently used entrances, even just one or two containers will be a real mood-boost through the darkest months. The range of plants for pots available to buy has widened enormously compared to just a few years ago. Plants with attractively coloured foliage in a wealth of colours and shapes offer tremendous variety and many are now sold in small pots, perfect for putting together a mixed display in a container. Combine slender-leaved evergreen ornamental grasses like bronze-brown or golden Carex or airy pony-tail grass (Stipa tenuissima), with large-leaved perennial Heuchera in a wealth of colours from orange and pewter to darkest purple, along with small evergreen shrubs like Euonymus, Phormium, Rosemary and Box, or the unusual spiral-stemmed corkscrew rush (Juncus effusus Spiralis). Add flowers for seasonal colour: flowering bedding plants are dominated by miniature cyclamen and violas, which do great in sheltered spots or favourable winters, but are likely to take a breather from blooming in periods of harsh weather. Not so with heathers, long overlooked and well overdue for
a revival. The winter-flowering species Erica carnea and E. x darleyensis bloom for months from mid-winter onwards, while bud-blooming varieties of heath (Calluna vulgaris) are longest-lasting of all, as the coloured buds last for months from autumn. Beneath all these plants, tuck in clusters of small bulbs like crocus, miniature iris and dwarf narcissi, to welcome in the spring. Plants make very little growth over winter so mass them close together for the best effects. Dormant growth also gives some great opportunities to ‘cheat’ and use cut stems in containers. Prune brightly coloured young growth from dogwoods or shrubby willows, and insert them in large, deep pots of soil to look like established plants. Or, for a festive touch, use stems of silver birch, or contorted hazel or willow, sprayed silver or gold, then decorated with baubles and fairy lights.
Choosing and caring for indoor plants Houseplants have rocketed in popularity in recent years and make excellent Christmas gifts too. But our homes can be hostile places for plants, so do check their preference for growing conditions, particularly the amount of light, and temperature. Consider humidity too, as the air in centrally heated rooms can
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