Having committed to a predominately green terrace this year, I now find myself scheming with a view to adding something a with some colour before the tulips come out to play. It reminded me that the mild weather may have others tempted to get out and fill their containers with colour, so here are some ideas for what to plant right now to add a little fun to February.

1. Primula

I adore these little stars. They look best in wide shallow containers raised up a little to give them some height (they’re diminutive little stars). You can keep them going longer with regular deadheading and of course, you do NOT have to be boringly tasteful (see below).

2. Erysimum

I adore wallflowers; they are incredibly long-lasting and the colours remind me more of May than February. Bowles Mauve is the classic, but there are other, fancier ones too. Flower colour deepens as time passes, creating an ombre effect with deepest pink at the bottom and pale egg yolk up top. This is the antidote to smart uprightness…here we have a rather more chilled out look; bedhead in plant form - I love it.

3. Fritillaria

Gorgeous isn’t it? The snakeshead fritillary is a bulb, and you can find them, pre-planted in little pots right now at garden centres. It’s obviously cheaper to get these as bulbs and plant them in the autumn, but a small pot of them on an outside table is a thing of great beauty, and is therefore very much necessary, so if autumn passed you by, then here’s your chance. Windowboxes are another great place for these fritillaries, as again, it it elevates them to eye-height.

4. Muscari

Another bulb, and one that the kind folks at the garden centre will have planted into small pots for you to buy. I love these little bulbs and I think generosity is key here. Cram them in tight and enjoy.

5. Hellebores

See my post on how to grow hellebores here, and know that this is no flash-in-the-pan affair; once you’ve planted your hellebores you’ll have something permanent to enjoy that will delight you year after year. The leaves are evergreen and you’ll thank yourself every winter and early spring when the flowers appear.

x Laetitia