I have just changed from a grass lawn to gravel which I love, but the tubs I have are all fading now that summer is at an end, any ideas as to what plants would cheer up my tubs for the winter.

How about winter pansies? But underplant them with spring bulbs to save another quandary when the pansies start to fade.

I have a tub which I planted up early this year which is still going strong... its centre piece is a Pieris and then it is edged with winter pansy's, viola's and sweet violets - all have done exceptionally well in this funny summer and have flowered really well, in fact the viola has climbe all the way through the Pieris... remember if you are using an acid loving centre piece (as most are) then you will have to use ericatious compost... I would normally recommend Viola's over winter pansy's as they tend to flower over a much longer period and in much harsher conditions

many thanks for your reply smithy and akingsho, I am already on my way to the garden centre to stock up with winter pansies, I did have summer ones but did not know you could get winter ones

Hi, I also have a gravel garden with lots of pots including some palms etc how do I protect them from the frost apart from bringing them inside, some of them are quite large heavy plants.

Any ideas I would be most grateful

Karen

Hi Karen,

Simply moving them to the protection of a house wall (south facing) would help raise the ambient temperature by a few degrees but dependant on where you live and what species of palms etc we are dealing with dictates what other protection.

It is usual to raise the pot off the ground using pot feet - as it is often waterlogging that is the killer not the cold... then lagging the pot but not the plant in bubble wrap helps prevent the compost inside the pot freezing and cracking the pot.

Lastly, you can wrap the plant up for winter using dead fronds, horticultural fleece and sacking - do not use bubble wrap as the plant still needs to breath.

I hope this helps

Angela