How To Create Superior Hanging Baskets

 Hanging baskets add an extra dimension to gardening, positioned just above eye level; they invite you to lift your gaze skywards. Whether you plant for subtlety or go for a riot of colour, they make for instant appeal.

Hanging baskets are a form of gardening that is available to everyone, even those who have no garden. Fixed to house walls, they are an extension to the home, bringing pleasure every time you walk through the door. They are democratic: delightfully framing the doorway of an elegant town house, they are equally at home at the entrance to a country cottage. They can be fixed near a kitchen window if you want to grow herbs, for instance. They can also be suspended on either side of a patio door and enjoyed from inside when it is too wet or cold to venture outdoors. They are also the ideal way for a city dweller to experience something of the thrill of growing things.

Deciding What You Want

A wealth of plants can be grown in baskets, not just the traditional lobelias, pelargoniums and fuchsias, splendid though these are. While they are generally associated with summer, you can plant baskets for spring, autumn or even winter interest, because many plants flower at these cooler times of year, even if the choice may not be as great.

Hanging baskets are also extremely versatile as the can be enjoyed in many ways. Most people think of them as vehicles for vibrant summer flowers, but they can be used not just for flower plantings, but also for plants with variegated or coloured leaves, herbs, and even fruit and vegetables. In a conservatory (sunroom), use them for trailing rainforest plants, such as cacti, ferns and orchids.

Making An Impact

As with many other types of container, hanging baskets offer boundless opportunities to experiment. You can try out all kinds of colour combinations and be subtle as you like or as ritzy as you dare. You can use an arbitrary mix of flowers that will certainly be cheerful if not elegant or you can adopt a more sophisticated approach and plan the effect from the outset. Hot vibrant colours, such as red, orange and yellow, will always make an impact, while soft blues, pinks, cream and white are more soothing. Purples are ambivalent, adding drama to an already brilliant planting but sounding deeper notes in a gentler pastel scheme.

 Deciding ON A Style

Some of the best hanging baskets are to be found in municipal schemes and adorning the streets of towns, where they are often paid for by the shopkeeper. The baskets are usually planted for summer interest and often contain bright, eye-catching colours. You can, of course, copy these at home, but there is no reason you cannot add a personal touch. An informal mixture of plants suits a cottage garden, for instance, whereas an elegant, white painted, stuccoed house needs a more tightly controlled look, perhaps involving no more than two colours. If you favour a very minimalist style, try a few hanging rat’s-tail cacti with perhaps a spiky aloe for height. For a funky look, try using one of the more compact grasses, such as festuca glauca.

Send flowers in Edmonton Alberta with Canada Floral Delivery. Order online for same day delivery across Canada.

 Edmonton's Premier Florist.