Smarten up your front garden, patio wall or balcony with lush, colourful hanging baskets that burst with blooms from Spring until the end of Summer
Preparing your hanging basket :
Planting up a hanging basket is easy, enjoyable and straightforward.
To get started you need wire baskets, with a coir or sphagnum liner, some good potting compost mixed with vermiculite or perlite to help retain moisture and a mixture of slow-release fertiliser with water-retaining crystals.
Balancing the basket on a bucket or container will keep it steady while you plant it up. Fill the basket with the prepared soil up to the top, pressing down firmly. Water well and allow the soil to settle. Top the soil up if needed.
Before you begin adding the plants, consider where the basket will be positioned, sun or shade, as this will affect the choice of suitable plants for the best display.
Also, make sure the basket is not positioned too high making it difficult to deadhead and water the flowers, plus the full impact of the blooms will not be visible.
Guidelines for a hanging basket:
When ready to fill the basket the basic guidelines are Pillar, ( tall central plant to add height), Filler (smaller plants around the central plant) and Spiller (plants that will spread and trail over the sides of the basket).
Extra plants can be grown on the sides of the basket by slitting small holes around the sides and carefully slotting the plant through. Alternatively, side plants can be added before the top layer of compost mixture is added.
Fuschias, Perlagoliums, Salvia or Coleus are ideal ‘pillar’ plants, surrounded by Petunias, Lobelias, Alysum, Begonias, Dianthus and Verbenas, the ‘spillers’ that will cascade over the sides can be Ivy, Nasturtiums, Bacopa, Calibrachon or Cup flowers.
Keep hanging baskets well watered and feed with a liquid fertiliser weekly.
