Most brassicas and many other winter vegetable are too big to be grown in containers, but kale and chard are perfect for pots.
Grown alongside oriental leaves such as pak choi, which thrives in similarly shady conditions, it will provide leafy pickings all winter long. Asparagus peas, covered in delightful brick-red flowers, add colour and the pods can be harvested young and sliced finely into salads.
Looking for more winter veg? Find out what to plant in August.
Follow the advice in this step by step guide to get a kale, pak choi and asparagus pea pot.
If you’re using a metal container, remember that they can heat up quickly so are best placed out of direct sun. Make drainage holes before filling with compost.
Plant two or three kale plug plants direct into the compost about 15cm apart in the centre of the pot.
Sow pak choi direct, keeping the compost damp. Finally edge with the asparagus peas, sown 10cm apart.
This simple container display is perfect for a shady corner. The large, glossy leaves of the bergenia look fantastic all year round, while its pink flowers combine with those of the thrift to add a splash of colour in spring. Both plants are perennial so, once you have finished with your display, transfer them into the garden. You W
Add a cottage-garden feel to your patio with this simple pot project. The trio of narcissus, carex and aubretia provides instant colour, as plants can be bought in flower. If other spring flowers catch your eye at the garden centre, you could use those instead. Find out how to create the display, below. You Will Need
The sweet-smelling irises should be in flower by late-winter if the weather is mild. Before then, you can enjoy the foliage combination of the needle-like iris, the filigree English ivy and the crimped fern. If you plant up this container feature in autumn you can use iris bulbs; if you wait until spring, simply buy pots of iris. Yo
If deadheaded regularly, pretty bellis daisies will keep flowering for weeks, offering a colourful display through spring and into summer. The English ivy in this pot recipe can be planted in the garden when the display is past its best. You Will Need