How to make a hanging basket in 8 easy steps

A hanging basket brimming over with colourful plantings will soften looming walls, bring height to your borders and enliven dull spots on your patio

READ MORE: Caring for your hanging basket

In today’s smaller gardens hanging baskets are becoming the new wall art. They break the monotony of blank walls and raise the beauty of a garden to eye level. With the large baskets available you can incorporate a mix of vibrant plantings that’ll add that extra something to your outdoor space.

Here’s how

Step 1: Choose your hanging basket – select a size suitable for the number of plants you wish to use. Some baskets already come fitted with coir. If not, cut some coir to size and use it to line the basket.

Step 2: If necessary, you may need to add some extra loose coir to ensure the entire basket is properly lined.

Step 3: Fill the bottom third of the basket with a good-quality potting soil.

Step 4: Add a water-retaining polymer such as Stockosorb.

Step 5: Mix in general plant food granules to promote leaf and flower growth, such as Wonder Shake ‘n Grow.

Step 6: Now plant your basket up starting with your focal plant. We chose Fuchsia ‘Shadow Dancer’ because of its soft, showy pink and cream blooms. Carefully loosen the root ball before positioning the plant.

Step 7: Next, position the trailing plants. We added the new Alyssum ‘Snow Prince’, which cascades gently over the edge of the basket.

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Step 8: Top the basket up with potting soil before adding the annuals, which don’t need to be planted as deeply as the other plants. You can fill the gaps with a variety of colourful plants – we chose ivory mimulus to complement the fuchsia blooms and blue lobelia for a subtle contrast. The larger leaves and pleasing flowers of ‘Lotto’ begonia add impact. Be careful not to leave air pockets – press the soil down firmly around the plants. Water well and leave the basket to drain before hanging it up.

For suitable plant selections and tips on caring for your plant CLICK HERE

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