WINTER VIOLAS

PANSIES and violas are the most popular container plants for winter and spring. Varieties on sale now will flower during mild weather throughout the winter.

I’ve always enjoyed the best results from smallflowered violas rather than big pansies. Among those, the Sorbet Series come in several excellent colours and are sweetly scented. Better still for fragrance are Most Scented, which come in a vibrant mix of orange, blue, cream or purple. You can still buy plugs of pansies or violas online, from suppliers such as thompsonmorgan.com — but hurry, as stocks will soon run out.

Grow your plants in good- quality general- purpose potting compost, grouped in large containers.