you can get some good artificial lollipop style bay trees.... Alternatively, you could look for a standard box plant or even a cloud pruned one, if you don't mind spending a lot of money. Still risky though, given the high infection rate with blight and box sucker these days...

If you're planning to keep them by the front door, Bays should be fine as they'll get some shelter and warmth from the house. If you do get a very cold winter, and you can't move them indoors, you can always wrap the pots in fleece and bubble-wrap. :)

Ready made standards can be expensive but if you can wait you can make your own. There was a very nice euonymus on here the other day hich I'm having a go at copying. Holly woks well and I'd imagine Lonicera nitida might work and be rather faster growing.

Trouble is the time scale - you'd have to use something else while they were growing.

Another idea is a small obelisk and some ivy. That works quite well and is reasonably quick.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Bamboo - I've spotted box blight around so I will stay clear getting any.
Rosierose- considering how mild our winters of late have been maybe I could give the bay tree a go?
Steragram- thanks for your idea of ivy, will have think about that idea.

The problem with bay trees in winter, assuming its not cold enough for pots to freeze (which it usually isn't) is always the same - wind, so if the area you want to stand them in is a wind tunnel or often exposed to wind, they won't cope.

Lollipop trained thornless holly, maybe?

I rescued a nearly dead straggling little bay bush in a pot, pruned it severely till it had only one stem and apart from a slight kink is growing sraight up as a standard still in a pot by the frontdoor where it gets the most awful wind almost non stop. It's doing great. They're pretty tough.

I like the idea of a thornless trained holly - golden ilex possibly? That would brighten the rather dark winter days. I woke up this morning here and it is grey, very windy and wet. Can't believe it's the 11 of July! Hopefully it will clear up a bit but haven't been able to go into the garden all weekend 'cause of torrential downpours. :0

Have you looked at the holly in some of Hywel's blogs?

Re. Bamboo's comment about Bays and wind...

We have two standard Bays sited well away from the house on a very exposed, west-facing deck. The winds we get here are often extreme (enough to rip the greenhouse off the wall, and blow a heavy barbecue off the terrace that existed pre-deck). The Bays have suffered no ill-effects at all. Just make sure you choose containers which are unlikely to topple over in the wind - choose squat containers rather than tall. :)

Steragram- yes I did have a look and his standard holly golden King with lots of berries on it looks wonderful! In the autumn I will go on the hunt for two as they will cheer me up no end in the winter!

Good choice Amsterdam, much more resilient - but hopefully there's a male holly in someone's garden, or you won't get berries in subsequent years. They look lovely without berries anyway though.

Will you be placing your pots on a hard surface or on soil. If soil, think about cutting the bottom off the base of the pot to allow the roots to grow in to the soil.

Scotsgran-will be placing on a hard surface on my front door step.
Bamboo- could I not buy a male and female holly standard or are they not identical looking?

You should be able to find a male variegated holly standard somewhere, but it won't look exactly like Golden King - there's a male holly with cream and green variegated leaves called, believe it or not, Ilex aquifolium Silver Queen, and another called Ilex Golden Milkboy. It might be better to plant a male holly in the garden somewhere and still have your two Golden King standards in pots, the genders don't have to be right on top of each other for pollination purposes. (I've just re-read that last sentence - no pun intended! I mean right next to one another...)

Bamboo thank you for that advice. Off to the Dingle plant nursery in the autumn then.