Beautiful winter planter ideas for 2025

As the garden settles into the cooler months, colour doesn’t have to fade. Pots planted with winter-interest flowers can bring depth and vibrancy to outdoor spaces when much of the garden lies dormant. From soft evergreens to early spring blooms, these pots create moments of brightness through the season.

Choosing your plant pot

Begin with a plant pot designed to endure the seasons. Our hand-thrown terracotta pots and glazed plant pots are built for strength, they’re frostproof and crafted to last through even the coldest months.

When choosing a pot, consider size as well as style. Larger pots hold more compost, helping to insulate roots and retain moisture, which is especially important in colder months. They also give plants more space to grow and create a stronger focal point for entrances or terraces.

Ensure your pots have generous drainage holes to allow excess water to escape and raise them using pot feet or stands. This simple step helps prevent waterlogging, protects roots and keeps your winter pots looking their best throughout the season.

Winter flowering plants

Bring life and colour to your garden through the colder months with a thoughtful mix of winter-flowering plants. Combine evergreen shrubs, textured grasses and compact conifers to create height and structure at the heart of your container, then layer with vibrant seasonal bedding for contrast and depth.

Together, these plantings ensure your pots remain full of interest well into the new year. Below, we’ve shared some of our favourite winter plants to inspire your next display.

Flowering plants: Bedding plants such as winter pansies, violas, cyclamen coum and primroses bring welcome colour to shorter days, creating vibrant displays that lift the garden through the colder months. The Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) is a favourite for early blooms, flowering from winter into early spring.

For scent, consider Sarcococca (Christmas box), which fills the garden with highly fragrant white flowers in January. Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconites) add a cheerful splash of yellow, while winter heathers pair beautifully with dwarf conifers, offering a mix of textures and tones. For something more decorative, ornamental cabbages provide rich, colourful foliage that lasts throughout the season.

Evergreen shrubs: Evergreen shrubs bring strength and structure to the garden through winter. Viburnum, Mahonia, Skimmia japonica, Heuchera and Hebe hold their foliage when other plants fade, adding reliable colour and form in colder months.

Ivy stays green throughout the season, ideal for softening walls or spilling over the edge of a pot. Evergreen box works beautifully to frame patios and doorways, while Daphne and winter jasmine add fragrance and delicate white flowers to cold-weather displays.

Berries: Berries bring colour and seasonal interest to winter pots, adding a classic festive touch to the garden. Plants such as Callicarpa, Gaultheria procumbens, red-berried holly, Cotoneaster and Pyracantha all produce glossy clusters of fruit through autumn and winter, brightening pots and borders when little else is in bloom.

Spring Bulbs: Spring bulbs bring a welcome burst of colour after the darker months, marking the first signs of the new season. Snowdrops, crocus, daffodils and tulips can be planted in late autumn to create a bright display in pots.

For a longer-lasting display, try layering bulbs at different depths within the same pot. Early bloomers such as crocus and snowdrops can sit above later varieties like daffodils and tulips, creating a continuous wave of colour from late winter into spring.

Herbs: Herbs bring fragrance and texture to winter pots, adding both beauty and purpose. Evergreen varieties such as rosemary, sage, thyme, lavender and mint are hardy enough to withstand colder weather, holding their scent and colour through the season.

For compact planting, our Kitchen Herbs tiered planter is perfect for creating a layered display of herbs in smaller spaces. Place it where it will catch the winter sun, and you’ll have fresh, aromatic sprigs ready for warming seasonal dishes.

Height and structure: Adding height and structure gives winter pots presence and balance. Focal plants such as Cordyline, with its bright, architectural foliage, create a striking centrepiece, while dwarf conifers add evergreen form and year-round interest. Ornamental grasses bring movement, softening the overall display.

For colour, consider Cornus (dogwood); its vivid stems in shades of red, orange and gold stand out beautifully against low winter bedding, perennials and small shrubs — especially when planted in contrasting pots.

Winter care

Light levels are at their lowest during winter, so position your plant pots where they’ll receive as much sunlight as possible. Grouping pots together in a sheltered spot helps protect them from wind and frost, while wrapping individual pots in horticultural fleece or bubble wrap will keep root balls insulated through colder spells.

Our EcoPots collection includes designs with integrated wheels, making it easy to move heavier planters into sunnier or more sheltered positions as the weather changes — ideal for protecting delicate displays through winter.

Feeding isn’t necessary over winter, but it’s worth checking the compost occasionally. Even in cooler weather, it can dry out during mild periods, so water lightly when needed to keep plants healthy until spring.

Bringing it all together

With the right mix of winter-flowering plants, evergreens and structural elements, your garden can remain full of life and colour long after summer fades. Planting in durable, frostproof pots ensures your displays stay protected through every season — ready to bloom again at the first signs of spring.

For more inspiration on how to combine shades and textures beautifully, explore our Colour Theory in Conversation with Studio Fitzpatrick Design — a guide to balancing tone and form across your garden planting and pottery.

Explore our full range of garden plant pots to find the perfect foundation for your winter planting. Each piece is crafted for strength and timeless style, designed to bring lasting beauty to the garden all year round.