Use Hanging Baskets For Magnificent Displays Of Color Throughout The Growing Season

Hanging baskets add a touch of class to any garden, and can be as plain or as elaborate as you wish. Ornate garden baskets packed with colorful plants are magnificent and truly eye catching when hanging from porches and patios, and they are sure to lighten anyone's day.

The attraction of flowers in baskets, containers and window boxes is easy to understand. Vibrant colors and magnificent displays can transform any patio, wall, or garden into areas full of life.

As you can imagine there are many different places where you can display your baskets, such as Shepard hooks and carefully placed supports mounted on outdoor structures.

The one thing you should bear in mind when planting your hanging baskets, is you will want to populate them with plenty of trailing, plants. After that you can incorporate one or more upright plants in the center of the basket for a more balanced appearance.

The most effective baskets are those created from peat-lined wire baskets which you'll find online, in nurserys and home improvements stores.

The primary reason they perform so well is because that once filled with soil, plants can be poked through holes in the sides and bottom as well being planted inside the basket. Once the plants have taken hold and growing nicely, the results is an entire globe like show of gorgeous, blossoming flowers.

Some of my personal favorites of trailing plants include petunias, lipstick plants, verbena, bridal veil, and trillium. One particular flower that is a great addition to have is alyssum and whilst it isn't a trailing plant as such, it’s just the thing for adding strong areas of color that will bloom all summer long.

Many gardeners also add non blooming plants for texture including a Creeping Charlie and various herbs. Ultimately, the whole strategy is to plant your basket with an assortment of small plants, whilst bearing in mind they are certainly going to grow. This means that it’s advisable to plant your young plants 3-4 inches apart.

Just like any other container plantings, they will require a regular feed to do well. It's possible to select a good quality compost that has sufficient nutrients to keep going throughout the growing season.

Additionally you can also purchase slow-release pellets which are mixed into the compost. The other option is to use a liquid feed a couple of times every two weeks during the growing season.

For great summer displays, Petunias, Geranium, Lobelia, Impatiens and Fuschias are an excellent choice, although you will discover that there are many others that can be used.

Watering and Feeding Your Hanging Basket...

Whichever compost you choose, you can cut down on watering by adding water storing crystals. Some need pre-soaking; others can be added directly to the compost. Most new composts contain some plant food, but this is usually exhausted after 6 weeks.

To keep the plants flowering well, you should give a high-potash plant food. Tomato fertilizers are suitable, but you can also buy special hanging basket formulas. Pelleted fertilizers are easy to handle and feed the plant as they break down in the compost.

One application will last for a whole season, but check, as individual products vary. Liquid feeds are sold as powders to be dissolved in water, as liquids to be diluted or as ready-mixed products. They are usually watered into the compost as a root drench at intervals, depending on the product.

Some can be sprayed directly on to the foliage as a foliar feed, and these are especially good for giving your plants an instant boost if they have suffered a setback, such as an unexpected cold spell or pest attack, but a certain amount of the product is inevitably lost.

Cameo Series Basket...

This 14-Inch Hanging Basket is a very attractive plant holder, and incorporates rounded metal bars with scrolls on both ends that rest near the top of the basket in groups of three. Nice style and good quality it appears to be strong enough to give many years of use.

The chains and hooks are heavy duty which give a degree of stability, unlike many other to be found on the market.

Baskets will need to be well watered during the warmer weather as they can dry out quickly. In the event you are not going to be around all the time to water your plants you could invest in a drip system and a water timer, that way you can be sure your hanging baskets remain provide a colorful display all season.

Brackets and Other Fixings...

Baskets need to be mounted, and usually some form of wall bracket is required. To determine the size of the bracket, you will need to calculate how wide the basket will be once it is planted up and mature, then divide this figure by two.

This is the minimum distance it will need to hang from the wall so that the plants can be displayed properly. Look for sturdy brackets that will not buckle under the weight of the basket and that are made from rustproof material.

Baskets can also be suspended from hooks attached to the crossbeam of an archway or pergola or screwed to the ceiling of a conservatory (sunroom).

If you intend using large baskets it's worth investing a little extra for heavy duty brackets as cheaper ones have a tendency to buckle under the weight, some cheap ones also rust in no time at all.

Amazon.com Widgets

Finally, you should give some thought as to where your hanging baskets are to be placed. The majority of annual flowers talked about here will appreciate full sun and definitely compensate your hard work with continuous blooms all season long.