INTO THE GARDEN...

WITH GARDEN EXPERT Planting a hanging basket is such an enjoyable task so do it now to ensure a colour ful summer show…

Awell-planted hanging basket will grow into a blooming riot of colour beside the front door. Plant one now, and it will welcome you home throughout the summer months.

There are many choices of containers and plants to suit you and your house, from windowsill and wall-mounted baskets to the more traditional hanging frames that grow into spheres of tumbling flowers.

The traditional basket is often composed of lobelia, petunias, geraniums, or begonias. But there are plenty of modern options, if you fancy tr ying something new. Instead of classic geraniums, go for a scented pelargonium, such as ‘Attar of Roses’. In place of old-fashioned double marigolds, tr y singleflowered ‘Lemon Gem’ or ‘Burning Embers’. And rather than ivy and liquorice plants, opt for some new foliage, like compact carex grass, silver lady fern, or trailing Indian mint, for instance.

A few claret flowers, such as dark calibrachoa or Pelargonium sidoides, will modernise a basket, and they look especially striking when combined with crimson blooms such as Pelargonium ‘April Hamilton’, or orange flowers such as nastur tiums.

But for a really modern look, you might choose to compose your hanging basket out of nothing but a mixture of different foliage plants! Or you could opt for an elegant selection of white flowers combined with silver-leaved plants.

If you like to garden with wildlife in mind, fill your basket with single-flowered varieties that provide nectar. Butterflies adore heliotrope (for example ‘Midnight Sky’) and trailing ver vain such as Glandularia ‘Sissinghurst’.

For a front door that faces nor th or east, buy plants that thrive in semi-shade: fuchsias, ferns, ivy, busy lizzies, dwar f hostas, and regal pelargoniums (‘Bushfire’ or ‘Lord Bute’).

Once your basket is in pride of place, maintain it by deadheading and watering regularly. Don’t let it dr y out, and add liquid tomato food to the watering can once a week. This TLC will ensure your basket is a cheering boule of flowers for months.

If you like to keep wildlife in mind, use flowers that provide nectar

CHOOSE A CONTAINER…

Select a basket that can be attached to a wall or hung from a hook. A classic metal hanging or wall basket allows growth out of its sides and base and will eventually be concealed by flowers, so don’t worry how it looks. Or, opt for a pretty rattan basket that plants can trail over the sides of.

GATHER MATERIALS…

If using a metal frame, line with coir (coconut fibre) or an old compost bag. Or use moss from the lawn if you have a mossy lawn, but don’t buy moss or take it from the wild as it’s not sustainable. Make cuts in the coir or plastic for plants to grow through.