EACH year I say I am going to replant my hanging baskets and plant up some containers with autumn colour, however, this is the first year I have actually done so.

Now I have pots and hanging baskets that will cheer me up on a cold winter’s day and remind me why I love gardening so much. So, what exactly have I done? Well, firstly I replanted my hanging baskets with a leucothoe scarletta in the centre surrounded by trailing ivy, cyclamen and viola.

Other great plants for autumn hanging baskets are winter pansies, gaultheria to give nice berries, along with ajuga and lysimachia for trails. After that (go me!) I planted a few containers that I can see from indoors.

I planted these with a skimmia rubella in the centre – again surrounded with violas which are superb for winter bedding as they produce hundreds of flowers and are resilient to the Scottish weather.

Remember, try and put your pots where they will get as much light as possible over the winter, and don’t forget to water them!

You should also put your autumn pots on a pot stand, or pot feet, it just protects them a wee bit more if the ground freezes…but let’s hope for a mild winter and that none of us have to worry about pot feet.

PLANT OF THE WEEK: GAULTHERIA PRECUMBENS ‘WINTERBERRY’

This is a wonderful plant for those winter beds, baskets and planters with the most fantastic bell-shaped white flowers which give way to luscious red berries in the winter – when crushed the berries smell of wintergreen. It is a low growing, compact plant making it ideal for all those winter planting needs.