Whether planted for summer or winter interest, hanging baskets provide valuable colour at eye level. Choose vibrant bedding plants for a short-term show or herbs, shrubs and evergreens for a long-lasting display.
Choosing a basket
Hanging baskets are all about being creative. Beyond just selecting vibrant and eye-catching plants you also have the option to customize in other ways such as choosing an unusual basket material. Commonly wire baskets or solid plastic hanging baskets are used but if you want a more earthy and homemade feel then you could opt for a woven wicker basket – or even a kitchen colander. Baskets come in different sizes, normally 12-18 inches wide. You should be careful not to purchase a basket which is either too big or too small, as you don’t want to under fill or over stuff it.
Choosing a liner
Next you’ll need to choose a liner for your hanging basket. There are a few different options here. Our favourite liner is a natural one – moss. You can collect moss from outdoors, or purchase it from a home garden centre in bags. Moss is an organic material which not only soaks up and holds moisture really well but also looks more natural than other liners. If you don’t want to use moss for any reason then you could consider purchasing a pre-made liner, or a re-constituted peat liner.
Choosing your plants
As a rule of thumb, in 12-14 inch baskets you can aim for 3-5 plants and in a 16 or 18 inch basket you can use 5-7 plants. When choosing your plants you should aim for a central plant which adds some volume, some trailing plants which will hang over the sides and some infill plants to cover any sparse sections. Many people will choose to only fill their baskets with overhanging flowers, which is fine if your basket is displayed up in a high place but if you want to have your basket a little lower, perhaps on a display or on the floor, then you need to add some volume with a centre piece. Some of the most popular plants for hanging baskets include Pansies, Geraniums, Fuchsias, Yuccas, Viola Ochre, Mini Cyclamen, Busy Lizzies and Begonia.
Putting your basket together
Now comes the fun part. To get started you need to add your moss (or other lining). Try and aim to cover the insides with about ½ inch thickness and then fill up to the halfway point of the basket with plenty of compost. The moss will help to hold in that extra bit of moisture during the dry spells and the compost will act as nutritious bedding for your plants. In today’s gardening market there are all manner of different powders, gels and tablets to help your plants. One commonly recommended option for hanging baskets is that of water storage crystals which slowly release moisture with time. However, a cheap alternative is to cut up a car sponge and mix the segments in with your compost. This will do the job just as well as storage crystals.
Now you will want to begin adding your plants to the basket. Start from the centre with your centre piece plant and add it to the middle of the basket. Next add your trailers at 12 o’ clock, 3 o’ clock, 6 o’ clock and 9 o’ clock. Next add your infill plants to cover any areas where compost is showing. Make sure they are all firmly placed and don’t be afraid to be a bit rough prodding, pulling and poking to make sure everything is stable. To make sure your basket is set up for success you should add some slow release fertiliser which will gradually release nutrients to keep the roots and flowers growing strong and healthy. Finally, find somewhere that will get plenty of sunshine, pop the chain on your basket, carefully hang it up and enjoy!
Do you enjoy gardening? Do you have any special tips on crafting hanging baskets or creating a garden sanctuary? Tweet us @TimeForYouGroup and let us know, or alternatively visit us at https://timeforyou.cleaning/uk/ for more tips and advice.
