Blast away the winter blues with Spring blooms that bring cheer with their bright colours and friendly flowers. Jason fills a basket with seven plants that are fantastic for early Spring and create a unique look. Each one has a different texture, foliage and hue, and together they fill out the planter. Follow along as Jason plants up a marsala Spring basket in this video.

Begin by using old 4" plastic pots and creating a crushed base in the bottom of your planter, about 1/5 the height of the pot. This not only saves you some soil, but also allows space for air and water collection. Always use premium outdoor potting soil to give your plants a great start.

Jason sometimes breaks up the roots on the bottom of the plants before nestling them into their new home, and sometimes he doesn't. Why? Because generally it's only the really root-bound plants that need encouragement to branch out with their roots. Most plants will automatically do that as they grow. When you break up the roots of a plant, you risk causing too much damage and slowing their growth, so make sure to be gentle.

This marsala Spring basket uses the following plants, but of course feel free to improvise with your own!

• Euphorbia
• Hellebore
• Dusty miller
• Heather
• Erysimum
• Thyme
• Violas
• Pussy willow