What can I plant now, in containers?

[DiamandaTheGreat]

Can someone give me simple instructions please?!

I usually buy small potted herbs, lavender, euonymous, vinca, potentilla and other fairly hardy shrubs. I then pot them on and they generally survive, just about, but at the moment I don't have much alive other than various euonymous, vinca, and some rosemary! And a rose bush that I brutally pruned at the end of last summer and is looking quite well. I also have some sad looking hydrangea and a hosta, but they usually come back without me doing much to them.

What should I plant now for colour/general cheer? Spring tulip bulbs? Any hardy veg that won't need much tending?...I have lots of pots but not many big ones, so can't have rows and rows of things together. I also have a lot of slugs 😳

There's still time to plant tulips, yep. Outdoor cyclamen will be in flower and will look nice for a decent while yet, or hellebores. Lots of garden centres will be selling forced/early daffodils just coming into flower, which is usually a bit more expensive than buying bulbs, but very pretty for an instant hit of spring. In a few weeks you could plant lily bulbs (NB: toxic to cats) or later on start dahlias, both of which do well in pots.

(I would personally not bother with veg in pots if you have a slug problem.)

Thanks @SarahAndQuack, very helpful! I love hellebores - heading off now to my local GC to see what they have. I'm always more tempted by hardy shrubs for their indestructible-ness but a quick fix of colour would be nice.

I've not had much success with dahlias before but I do love them - when would be best to plant those, please?

Your best guide is to go to a garden centre and see what they have on display, usually seasonal plants. You’ll find things like cyclamen, winter pansies, heather and hellebores at the moment. I wouldn’t bother with heather if I were you. Dahlias hate the cold and damp so wouldn’t plant those until much later into the year, after frosts have passed.

Dahlias need to wait until after the last frosts. Agree with hellebores, they are one of the best value plants, and long lived.

Ha! Well, I'm rubbish with Dahlias too - slugs get mine. So maybe that was a daft thing to suggest. You need to wait for the frost to go unless you can keep them somewhere frost-free, but they like being in pots more than lots of things, so worth it from that angle.

If you wanted hardy shrubs for colour, would you get a daphne? I had one in a pot for years and it was fine (I did feed it!), and they're so lovely at this time of year. Or witchhazel is magic (you want ericacious compost).

Thank you too to @spanishviola and @Turkeyhen! My little local GC was looking a bit understocked and sad, but I came home with some salvia (the edible kind) and a little thyme pot that needed rescuing from the discount corner.

There was indeed a lot of heather but I never find that very inspiring. No hellebores so I think I'll look further afield for those, and maybe witchhazel 👍