I bet you've got at least one tub/pot in the garden that's looking moribund/dead/'orrible over the winter. Well why not brighten it and your life up a bit by planting it up with a tried and tested brilliant winter planting that looks superb, without the tacky 'usual suspects' over-used Christmas plants.

This combination works best with ericaceous compost in the tub/planter, because one of the three doesn't like lime. As the plants become too big to live together they can be potted singly for a few more years, or planted out to grown on. The combination of the leaf colours and buds just works together to produce something really special.

There are deals to be had at various stores and it's probably best to buy the smallest you can find, because they're cheaper and will give you several years until the pot is overcrowded.

So roll of drums, here are the ingredients per pot/tub/planter:

Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald 'n Gold' http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/euonymu...d/classid.3818/ - Needs no introduction, seen all over the place, provides vivid bright yellow notes in the dullest weather.

Skimmia japonica 'Rubella' http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/skimmia...a/classid.4385/ - Those deep red flower buds are a brilliant contrast to the Euonymus and the shape and size of leaves are complementary. As an added bonus the flowers open in Spring and give tremendous scent.

Leucothoe axilliaris 'Curly Red' https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=leucot...52F%3B437%3B437 - with its unusual twisty leaves in gorgeous shades of burgundy echoes the colours of the Skimmia buds.

Try and make sure all three plants are a similar size and plant them fairly close together so the leaves and stems merge into one hummock, use your artistic flair to bring out the best of the grouping.

Enjoy

Blimey - we're a foot deep in snow here and you're on about winter planting. Two questions of you - (1) are you on this planet and (2) are you blonde?

A blonde man is in the bathroom and his wife shouts: "Did you find the shampoo?"
He answers, "Yes, but I'm not sure what to do... it's for dry hair, and I've just wet mine."

When I did have a full head of hair it certainly wasn't blonde, it was very brown and what's left still is..

The elder of my two sisters is blonde and the younger sister is a redhead.

Apparently our milkman got about a bit

As to the planting I suspect the majority of our members are in far from Arctic conditions.

Quote: Deeps wrote in post #2

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Blimey - we're a foot deep in snow here and you're on about winter planting. Two questions of you - (1) are you on this planet and (2) are you blonde?

A blonde man is in the bathroom and his wife shouts: "Did you find the shampoo?"
He answers, "Yes, but I'm not sure what to do... it's for dry hair, and I've just wet mine."

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Quote: Steamdrivenandy wrote in post #1

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I bet you've got at least one tub/pot in the garden that's looking moribund/dead/'orrible over the winter. Well why not brighten it and your life up a bit by planting it up with a tried and tested brilliant winter planting that looks superb, without the tacky 'usual suspects' over-used Christmas plants.

This combination works best with ericaceous compost in the tub/planter, because one of the three doesn't like lime. As the plants become too big to live together they can be potted singly for a few more years, or planted out to grown on. The combination of the leaf colours and buds just works together to produce something really special.

There are deals to be had at various stores and it's probably best to buy the smallest you can find, because they're cheaper and will give you several years until the pot is overcrowded.

So roll of drums, here are the ingredients per pot/tub/planter:

Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald 'n Gold' http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/euonymu...d/classid.3818/ - Needs no introduction, seen all over the place, provides vivid bright yellow notes in the dullest weather.

Skimmia japonica 'Rubella' http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/skimmia...a/classid.4385/ - Those deep red flower buds are a brilliant contrast to the Euonymus and the shape and size of leaves are complementary. As an added bonus the flowers open in Spring and give tremendous scent.

Leucothoeaxilliaris 'Curly Red' https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=leucot...52F%3B437%3B437 - with its unusual twisty leaves in gorgeous shades of burgundy echoes the colours of the Skimmia buds.

Try and make sure all three plants are a similar size and plant them fairly close together so the leaves and stems merge into one hummock, use your artistic flair to bring out the best of the grouping.

Enjoy

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