Colourful blossoms, floral fragrances, cold-hardy greenery, winter hanging baskets provide all this and more.
Hanging baskets are easy to install and care for during the cooler months and add welcome pops of colour to a frosty garden where nothing much grows. Pansies, violas, snapdragons, and cyclamen will flower during winter and you can combine them with evergreen trailers like ivy and Lysimachia Goldilocks.
You can also grow winter berries, vegetables and herbs in hanging baskets. You can use these in your kitchen or let visiting squirrels and birds feast on them.
So, are you ready to plant your own winter hanging basket? Take inspiration from our winter hanging basket ideas and plant up a bright and blooming display to last all through the colder months.
1. Colourful viola and pansy baskets
Both violas and pansies are winter bloomers. They can add a splash of colour to any garden and they’re easy to grow and care for.
Plant a mixture of different coloured varieties in your hanging basket. Make sure that the soil is moist and well-drained. Hang the pot in sun or semi-shade, but make sure it’s sheltered from direct rainfall or frost at night.
2. Pretty pink planters
Grow all shades of pink in your basket, from magenta to coral, peach, and lavender. Cool-season pink blossoms include snapdragons, heathers, cyclamen, and camellias. These plants flower heavily from January to March, blooming even when it’s cold and snowy.
3. Rainbow flower basket
Although you’re limited when it comes to winter flowering plants for a hanging basket, there are a few that will continue to bloom brightly through the long, cold winter. Try hardy primroses, pansies, cyclamen and flowering bulbs like narcissus and snowdrops. You could plant a ball of primroses by filling a round basket with these pretty flowers.
4. Bright foliage basket
Flowers aren’t the only option when it comes to adding a splash of colour to your winter garden. You can also plant some easy-to-grow plants with colourful foliage.
Skimmia, coleus, heuchera, and miniature conifers will add different shades and textures to your hanging basket. What’s more, these plants provide beautiful foliage all year round.
5. Evergreen trailing basket
Adding trailing plants to your winter hanging baskets will bring fresh greenery and interest to your garden when all else is bare. You can grow striking evergreen trailers like English ivy, Lysimachia Goldilocks, and Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ in your hanging pots.
Hang these baskets anywhere in your garden, in sunny or shadowy corners. Most trailers aren’t picky when it comes to sunlight but some may need to be placed in a frost-free position.
6. Berry-interesting basket
Winter berries can add joyful colour to a frosty landscape and also provide food for hungry squirrels and birds in the dead of winter.
Some easy-to-grow winter berries include boxberry, holly, snowberry, skimmia, viburnum, and mistletoe. Hang these baskets by your front door or in your garden where you can appreciate them in all their glory.
7. Tropical hanging baskets
How about adding some tropical beauties to your winter baskets? There are several cold-hardy tropical plants, like colocasia, hibiscus, palm, umbrella plant, and caladium.
With their large, brightly coloured leaves, tropical plants can make a bold statement in your garden or home. But remember, while some tropical plants can tolerate winters, they grow best in sunny, sheltered sites and will need to be protected from frost.
8. Winter vegetable and herb hanging basket
A basket full of winter vegetables will look incredible and once mature, you can use them in your salads and soups.
Winter kale and cabbage has attractive, frilly, purple and green leaves. You can also plant kirigami, an ornamental oregano variety, in your hanging basket. Although not meant for the kitchen, the herb has colourful, fragrant flowers that will make your garden smell as if spring is near.
10. Mix-it-up basket
Last but not least, you can mix different types of flowering plants, ferns, and grasses in your hanging basket for a spectacular effect.
Make sure the hanging basket is large enough to hold all the plants. You don’t want an overcrowded basket that will only become more so in the warmer months.
