With everything starting to look a bit grey and lifeless outdoors, now’s a good time to add some kerb appeal by focusing on pots and planters at the front of the house. A colourful container can be a brilliant pick-me-up, and by choosing the right cold-loving plants for front gardens, you can ensure a colourful display that will see you through until early spring.
Whether you opt for a large tub or floor-standing planter by the front door, a trailing hanging basket or a longline window box, picking cold-loving plants for your winter container is a must to ensure plants thrive and survive the big chill, as they’ll be more exposed to freezing temperatures than plants that are in the ground.
‘Winter is a great time to enjoy your garden and with the right plants, pots can still look colourful and inviting all through the colder months,’ says Julian Palphramand, Head of Plants at British Garden Centres. ‘Small efforts now, like potting up a few winter flowering plants and shrubs, can make a big difference and help create a welcoming outdoor space, whatever the season.’
1. Hellebores
‘Cold-loving plants are a wonderful way to bring colour and life to your front garden or window boxes during the colder months,’ says Charlotte McGrattan, Head Nursery Stock Buyer at Hillier Garden Centres.
‘Hellebores, also known as the winter rose, are a stunning perennial that produces beautiful, cup-shaped flowers in a range of colours, from deep purples to pinks and ivory whites.’
‘When planted in window boxes or at the heart of a front garden display, Hellebores take the spotlight with their striking blooms. These resilient flowers have a long flowering period that lasts well into spring, making them a perfect choice for creating a vibrant and enduring winter display.’
‘Hellebores are hardy perennials that come into life from late December, producing delicate flowers in white, pink, cream, and sometimes even deep plum shades,’ adds Julian. ‘They grow well in shady or semi-shady spots, making them perfect under trees or beside pathways. And planting several together creates lovely swathes of winter colour.’
Where to buy hellebores:
2. Winter heathers
‘Erica carnea or winter heather is another fantastic choice for winter colour and structure, when other plants are dormant,’ says Julian. ‘Winter heather blooms from autumn to spring, bringing cheerful pink, white or purple flowers. Its low-growing habit is ideal for brightening bare patches, containers or edging borders. Heathers also support important pollinators by providing nectar when few other plants are flowering.’
‘These hardy plants are ideal for filling the base of your window boxes or garden borders, creating a carpet of colour beneath any taller plants,’ adds Charlotte. ‘When combined with other cold-tolerant plants, winter heather helps create a radiant, welcoming display that will brighten even the chilliest days.’
Heathers like the sun, so position containers in a bright spot if you can, where they will get the winter sunshine.
Where to buy winter heathers:
3. Cyclamen
‘Cyclamen is another winter-flowering plant with charming, delicate petals that come in a variety of pinks, reds and whites,’ says Charlotte. ‘These graceful blooms add a cheerful pop of colour and are ideal for brightening up window boxes or seasonal containers by the front door, providing beauty that lasts throughout the season.’
Julian agrees: ‘You can also brighten up shady corners and doorways with cyclamen, which boast small, butterfly-shaped flowers and marbled leaves that will add interest to winter pots even when not in flower, and they thrive in frost-free spots.’
And for extra winter colour inside the house, you can also grow cyclamen indoors, positioning pots on a windowsill or growing them in baskets – they’re super-easy to care for and will flower long into the new year.
Where to buy cyclamen:
4. Mahonia
Mahonia is another favourite with its bold evergreen spiky, glossy leaves and fragrant yellow flower clusters that appear from late autumn,’ adds Julian. ‘Mahonia’s yellow clusters attract bees, as well as providing a lovely scent, and its dark purple berries add colour in winter. Mahonia is also widely available to buy in garden centres, and they are very easy to grow too.’
Be sure to plant mahonia in a container that is large and deep enough to prevent the plant’s roots from freezing in the winter and with plenty of drainage holes in the bottom. And mahonia’s feathery foliage and colourful flower clusters make it a great thriller plant if you’re following the ‘thriller, filler, spiller’ planting technique for containers.
Where to buy mahonia:
5. Skimmia and sarococca
‘For evergreen foliage and berries, skimmia and sarcococca are top picks,’ advises Julian. ‘Skimmia japonica produces glossy, dark leaves alongside groups of red berries that last through winter. The flowers have a delicate scent, and varieties like ‘Rubella’ are especially popular.’
‘Sarcococca or sweet box is a low-growing shrub with glossy leaves and very fragrant, creamy white flowers in late winter. The scent is strongest on mild days, so position it where you can enjoy it close up, like by the front door or lining garden pathways.’
Where to buy skimmia and sarococca:
6. Ferns
‘Don’t overlook the beauty of hardy evergreen low-maintenance ferns in winter,’ adds Julian. ‘Ferns such as polystichum setiferum keep their lush, feathery fronds throughout the colder months and add soft texture and greenery to shaded parts of the garden.’
‘Combine ferns with other colourful foliage plants like heuchera and ornamental grasses in pots for depth and seasonal interest.’
‘Other winter heroes to consider include dogwoods with striking red stems, viburnums for early flowers and berries, and nandina domestica with glowing red foliage in frost.’
Where to buy ferns:
7. Ornamental cabbage
For a cheery splash of colour that will brighten winter pot displays in an instant, adding some ornamental cabbage is a fun idea. Bear in mind that ‘ornamental’ cabbage is strictly not for eating, they are a non-edible variety that can withstand frosts and comes with fringed leaves and in colourful shades of pink, purple, white and green.
Ornamental cabbage makes a lovely container centrepiece along with other winter-flowering plants like easy-care pansies, violas and cyclamen. Ornamental cabbage does grow fairly slowly, though, so buy plants at roughly the size you want them in your container arrangement.
Where to buy ornamental cabbage:
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Are you planning on sprucing up your front garden? What cold-loving plants will you be choosing for containers and window boxes?
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