EVERYTHING looks bleak at this time of year but you can still brighten up your garden with a selection of containers to bring colour, texture and all-round interest to your patio or porch.

If you want to put winter containers on your patio make sure you place them in a prominent position. Too often, pretty containers are hidden behind patio doors and remain invisible to guests inside.

As winter draws in, group your containers together near windows for a better effect and to provide mutual protection.

Traditional winter colour schemes include red, green and white and there are plenty of plants to choose from. Among my favourites are the evergreen skimmia japonica subspecies reevesiana, one of the few skimmias which is a hermaphrodite and will therefore produce plenty of berries if planted on its own – though the display is even better with a male pollinator nearby. Plant it with skimmia japonica rubella, a compact male variety with attractive redmargined, dark green leaves, which is ideal for pots and troughs.

They like well-drained, nonalkaline soil in partial shade. Plant them with white winter-flowering heathers such as erica carnea springwood white or white perfection.

If you need more height in your container have a look at some slightly taller evergreens such as euonymus or a dwarf conifer.

Further colour can be achieved by planting winter-flowering violas, pansies and cyclamen miracle series, which will cope with all but the deepest shade.

Other useful additions to winter pots include gaultheria mucronata, which provides a pink sheen of berries but is better planted in groups to ensure plenty of cross pollination if it is to produce masses of white, pink, red or mulberrycoloured berries.

Variegated ivy is a must if you want your pot covered with trails of colour and texture and seems to withstand even the most difficult conditions. If you want to incorporate pansies into a bigger display they make a pretty foil for larger foliage plants such as grasses and heather.

Alternatively, set up outdoor shelving in a sunny, sheltered spot visible from the house and put rows of the same-coloured pansies in pots along the shelves, which creates a dramatic effect through repetition.

Use a good multipurpose compost with a generous layer of drainage to allow for heavy winter rain and add a handful of grit. Raise the pots on feet to allow the water to seep through underneath.

For a more contemporary foliage arrangement, choose dark with light – say a heuchera chocolate ruffles with its dark leaves which are burgundy underneath – and combine it with light green teucrium scorodonia crispum and a central plant of juncus effusus f.

spiralis with its curly, upright stems. This type of container will last all year round although you’ll have to give the teucrium a trim during the summer months to stop it overpowering its companions.

This type of planting can be left in a shady corner of the patio all year round and is best displayed at the top of a flight of garden steps in full view.

When you plant up your winter pots make sure you water them well and check the compost regularly to make sure it hasn’t dried out.

Deadhead flowers as they fade and remove leaves around the crown of the plant which are discolouring. If severe frost is predicted, cover the pots and plants at night with horticultural fleece for protection and hopefully your winter pots will remain colourful until spring.