Patio Colour for Autumn and Winter

As the days shorten, the weather cools and our tubs and hanging baskets are starting to look tired its time to fill them again with colour. 

There are lots of plants perfect to keep the colourful displays going into Autumn and Winter like Pansies, Violas, Polyanthus, Wallflowers, bedding Cyclamen, Heathers and Ornamental Cabbage. Choose from a large selection of young Herbaceous Perennials, Herbs, Conifers and Shrubs for making endless tub and hanging baskets displays. 

Make sure your containers are in the best places for good light and where possible protected from cold winds and extreme temperature fluctuations which can impact the performance of your plants. Select plants that are suited to specific areas in your outdoor space such as shade loving ferns or sun loving sedums to make a successful container winter garden.

Choose the size and shape of your container carefully when planning your design.  Larger containers provide more space for root growth and allow for a greater variety of plants to be included in the arrangement. Troughs should be a minimum 70cm long x 35cm wide x 35cm deep to support 7 plants to give impact. A tub 45cms by 45cms will support 7 plants and a tub 35cm in diameter will grow 5 plants. All excluding bulbs.

Additionally, choosing containers with proper drainage holes is crucial to prevent waterlogging which can lead to root rot and other issues. A good layer of draining material at the bottom like gravel prevents waterlogging or use a drainage saucer. Also raising the container from the ground with pot feet is a good idea.

Always use a high-quality potting mix to guarantee the best success of your autumn container garden. A free draining, nutrient rich potting mix provides the necessary support for plant growth while adding perlite or vermiculite creates an open textured medium which aids drainage

When planting try mixing plants with contrasting colours and textures but similar growth habits so that one variety does not over grow the other plants. Try to think also along the lines of incorporating a thriller, tall, a filler, bushy, and a spiller, trailing plant, into every arrangement.  That is a thrilling upright centrepiece plant like an upright conifer surrounded by fillers, pansies, polyanthus and cyclamen, finished off with spillers of tumbling trailing ivy and creeping alpine sedums.  Maybe add seasonal and ornamental elements too such as mini pumpkins, gourds, or decorative branches to enhance the autumnal vibe of your container garden. Combining Ornamental Cabbages and Kale in September for Harvest, Orange Pumpkins and Gourds in October for Halloween, colourful Solaniums and Polyanthus Firecracker for Bonfire Night and red Cyclamen for Christmas evoking festive and seasonal schemes.

 A tub 45cms by 45cms will support 7 plants, not including bulbs. To give a bold and textured display plant with evergreen Ornamental Grasses, like Carex Evergold, Miscanthus Little Zebra or Festuca Intense Blue, winter flowering Heathers, evergreen Sempervirens or Sedums, Heucheras, a berrying shrub like Pernettya or Cotoneaster and an accent plant like Cupressus Goldcrest. Always add dwarf early flowering bulbs like crocus, dwarf tulips and dwarf narcissus for the extra surprise and colour next spring. Or you could just plant one variety per container, so a tub of Yellow Pansies or Orange Polyanthus Firecracker or Wallflower Sugar Rush. Traditional autumn plant combinations are Pansies or Violas which will flower autumn winter and spring under planted with dwarf daffodils like Tete a Tete and tulips like Red Riding Hood with attractive stripey foliage. Another good scheme is Primroses in flower in autumn and spring with crocus flowering from January onwards.

 A couple of recipes to try are

Maroon Pansies, Pinky Grey Succulent, Deep Red Flowering Heather, White Cyclamen and a Variegated Hebe planted in a 45cm Terracotta Bowl under planted with White Crocus.

Solanum, Yellow Feathery Santolina, Heuchera Silver Frost, and a Red leaved Cordyline under planted with Tulip Peaches and Cream. Stand a Pumpkin nearby and there’s a display for Halloween.

Daffodils can be planted in layers in a deep pot. Put 10 cm of compost on top of the drainage material and then a layer of daffodil bulb another layer of bulbs and if there is enough room repeat this ending with a layer of compost. The bulbs will all grow to the same height and burst from the pot next March.

Hanging Baskets are another source of winter Plant Pleasure. It is better to plant one large basket for winter and spring interest so choose a 40cm basket. Using Jacks Magic Compost half fill the basket and add the layer of dwarf daffodils tulips or crocus. Then more compost and anything goes and all look good. For the trailing edge plants choose Aubretia, Ajuga, Lysimachia, Lamium, Variegated Thymes, Ivy, Heathers or Trailing Violas. For the upright middle plants Helichrysum, Heuchera, Grasses and Dianthus.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment and break the rules with different planting combinations and arrangements to discover unique and creative ways to show off your favourite plants.  If you have any big successes why not send your photos into us on our Facebook or Instagram pages. It’s always great to share our creative ideas.