What can I put in my pots to give me some colour for the next month or so?

[mamhaf]

I'm a time-pressed and not very competent gardener. None of the outdoor tomatoes and peppers I lovingly raised from seed came to anything this year because of all the rain.
I've just deposited the remnants in the compost bin. The pots, and consequently the garden, now look very bare and sorry for themselves.
Is there anything anyone can suggest I can buy from a garden centre and shove into some of the pots now to give a bit of colour until the winter? I'll put bulbs into some for next Spring - but it would be good to have something looking ok now too.

Hi, winter pansies would be fine. Cyclamen too will flower through the winter. Maybe something with hardy foliage like variegated ivy? Chilli plants should be ok until the frosts, have bright fruits on them. Ornamental cabbage are nice - big purple heads or white/greenish. I've just planted a hibiscus with huge pink flowers and a load of pink dianthus, not sure how they'll do. Box is very hardy if you just want something green and low maintenance.

Good luck - I'd say when buying from a garden centre look for lots of buds not something in flower now perhaps.

ornamental cabbages are nice. Just planted some (purplish ones and creamish ones) in a shallow, wide pot with some cyclamens in between & they look quite good next to the back door.

Thanks - just planted some cyclamen and winter pansies.