Garden in a Bucket

Credit: Netherlands Flower Bulbs

Just because summer’s over doesn’t mean you must retire your hanging baskets.

Peruse your favourite garden centre for the freshest of seasonal colour. This winter-interest basket shows off a florist’s cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) – while not terribly hardy (10°C/50°F), if the weather is mild or the location protected, it lasts longer outside than inside a warm home. Complementing it are a fancy-leaf ivy (Hedera, zone 5), winter pansies (Viola, zone 4) and a heather. Calluna cultivars shine in fall, and Erica cultivars take over for winter; both are hardy to zone 5. The little evergreen shrub is Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’ (zone 7). Plants will look cheerier if the basket can be hung out of the rain.