Let it all hang out
Now is the perfect time to plant up your baskets, so select those spillers, fillers and thrillers and…
MY dictionary offers the following definition for a hanging basket: ‘A container for flowers or plants that you hang from a hook, for example outside your house as a decoration.’ I don’t think anyone will argue with that description, but what it doesn’t do is point out any of the benefits of these high-rise planters.
So, let me run through a few of their plus points.
Hanging baskets will add vertical interest to bare garden walls and fences, and help to disguise poor brickwork on the external face of a house. They provide structure, boost kerb appeal and are perfect for those with small gardens as they don’t take up floor space.
Of course, the biggest boon of hanging baskets is that they give us all the opportunity to grow a range of summer-flowering plants that are unapologetically colourful, such as fuchsias, petunias and pelargoniums. Select the right ones and you can even inject
The right plants can inject colour into shady corners
a splash of colour into a shady passage or corner.
Now is the ideal time to plant up these versatile containers. Store in a light spot indoors for a few weeks to allow plants to establish and they’ll be ready for displaying outside when there’s no longer any danger from frosts.
Look after baskets and they’ll deliver the goods from early summer until mid-autumn.
The first step to making a hanging basket is to choose the container itself. There’s a huge range available, from heavyduty steel ones to ceramic types, along with wicker, coconut fibre, wire and plastic models, which have preformed slots for trailing plants.
In terms of size, containers typically range from 8in to 24in across.
Another option that’s bang on-trend is planters held by woven rope hangers. Either make them yourself by following an online step-by-step guide, or snap them up from a good garden centre or homeware store. My neighbour even unearthed a stunning ivory coloured macrame hanger dating from the 1970s on eBay.
When choosing plants, you’ll need a combination of spillers, fillers and thrillers. Petunias, lobelia and some begonias are perfect spillers, trailing down the sides of baskets, while busy lizzies, nemesia and heliotropes are great for filling gaps. Use upright osteospermums, pelargoniums and fuchsias to provide the thrills on top.
As for compost, you’ll find bags of expensive ‘container and basket’ compost in garden centres, but good-quality multi-purpose is just as good. Beef it up by adding controlled-release fertiliser granules and water-retaining crystals – the latter absorb moisture, then release it slowly as compost starts to dry.
To make planting easy, stand your basket on a bucket to keep it steady, then remove the chains to prevent them getting in the way. If it’s opensided, cover the inside with a liner and add an inch of compost. Make slits around the outside and feed through trailing plants. Fill twothirds of the container with compost and repeat.
Fill the basket with compost until it is within 1in of the rim and then plant up the top. Place taller varieties at the back with fillers in front. Dot lower-growing specimens and trailers around the edges. Water well and stash in a light, frost-free place for a few weeks to allow plants to settle down.
As soon as it’s warm enough for them to go outside, suspend baskets from a bracket fixed firmly to a vertical surface – ideally, it needs to be high enough so the top of the container is at eye level. If the basket is being displayed on the front of a house, squeeze hooks together with pliers to prevent them being pinched.
Looking after baskets is easy. Water regularly (twice or even three times a day in high summer) and feed weekly with a high-potash liquid fertiliser. Remove yellowing leaves, snip back wayward stems and deadhead fading blooms to prevent plants setting seed, ensuring they flower well into autumn.