Reader's question: Stephanie from Bishop Auckland has desperately clung on to her summer baskets and patio pots. They were a riot of colour until October, but now they’re looking really sorry and sad.

She wants to know if there are any particular winter flowering plants that could keep the colour alive in her garden until next spring.

STEPHANIE, you may think that your pots, tubs and containers are looking tired and that the colour has gone for another year, but this is the perfect time to give them a makeover. Empty your existing ones, keeping any hardy fuchsias potted up and tucked away in a cool greenhouse.

Fill with fresh compost and select from a fairly wide range of winter flowering plants.

Heather is a really reliable winter plant and is available in a range of colours, from whites to pinks and deep purples.

They like acidic soil, so fill the tub with ericaceous compost to keep them healthy. Skimmias are also acid-loving plants that look great into the autumn with their display of flowers, then berries.

The female skimmia Japonica has bright red berries against a dark evergreen leaf. Buy it with berries on to make sure it’s a female. It can be planted out into the garden next year, but will only flower and fruit again if it has a male plant close by.

Good foliage plants for a winter container include euonymus fortune.

Their contrasting foliage (either silver edged or golden lined) and tolerance of shade can be really useful in brightening a shady balcony or windowsill.

If it’s bright colours you’re after, winter flowering pansies are unbeatable. They are available in pretty much every colour under the sun, so you can either experiment with a display of complementary colours or throw caution to the wind and mix all the colours together to really catch the eye. Mix and match with the winter daisy (bellis perennis) and primulas, both of which come in a multitude of colours. They are all suitable for under-planting the heathers or skimmias, and will flower for ages.

The outdoor flowering cyclamen is a classy plant for a winter container. They have backward arched petals in shades of rich pinks, purples and whites, on top of a layer of shield-like leaves. They would look great when planted alongside the black grass (not really a grass, but technically a lily) ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’. A trailing ivy along the front of the container will help to break up the edge.

For a central plant in a container think about the red cordyline australis ‘purpurea’, or any of the miniature conifers. It adds an architectural quality and gives a bit of height. When it grows too big for the container, it can be planted straight out into the garden, where it will easily earn its keep.

Jobs this week

Wash, disinfect and repair bird boxes ready for next spring’s house hunting.

Collect fallen leaves and add to the compost bin to rot down to make compost for use next year.

Spread fresh gravel or grit around alpine plants. This helps prevent them from getting water-logged and tidies them up.

■ Brigid presents the BBC Tees Gardening show on Sundays from 1pm to 2pm.

Questions can be answered on the day by emailing brigidpress@bbc.co.uk anytime during the week, or texting 07786-200995 and phoning 01642-225511 during the show.