Polyanthus in the right spaces

We are now on smaller scale gardening activities in our city's autumn lockdown 2020.  Plants that had been shoved in (by me), plants that had grown beyond limits, plants that were once acceptable as ground cover but uninspiring - all these were evaluated in September and cut back, moved or thrown away.  The irises from my family went to a sunny spot in the back border where they should both 'bake'  and flower in future years.  A rather nice lily now has an unimpeded space of its own to the approbation of the donor; the big white daisies that remind me of our childhood have been split.  A fuchsia 'Tom Thumb' propagated by my husband has been moved out from the clutches of our mint and a new one, 'Genii' from the local garden centre is doing nicely in a sheltered partly sunny spot.  

Then one of the free advertorial magazines came through the door with an article on planting a winter tub.  We went to the local garden centre again and I purchased a bag of daffodil bulbs and three polyanthus.

In years past I would have rescued polyanthus, as when we bought three trays for 30p from a local superstore.  At times I have split our own, or driven to one of the larger garden centres and spent money.  On my 60th we went to our distant cousins' place out by Tarleton, now sold and demolished, and bought cyclamen and hellebores for winter tubs.    Those days have gone.

I put two polyanthus in the gaps left by the daisies.  There is space around them and the hellebores and I added some small daffodil bulbs.  I dug up two white heathers -  offshoots of a rescue plant, some vinca -  it was here when we arrived  -  and moved a cyclamen corm.   As instructed by the article I also sunk some daffodil bulbs under the planting for spring.

My tub does not look like the picture.  It has no conifers, skimmia or pansies from the recommended list.  It does not resemble anything my husband would have put together.  However, he has kindly said it looks fine.  Plants will grow and then we will have two more heathers, vinca that can re-join the rest under the front hedge, and a red polyanthus that can be planted back into the bed.