Very popular with our English friends, hanging baskets and other hanging pots frame entrances or decorate the corners of balconies with brio. This 'So British' trend has crossed the Channel to enhance our exteriors. Here is a selection of some ideal hanging plants.
Which plants for my hanging baskets?
The plants chosen to create hanging baskets must have particular characteristics.
First of all, most of them must have a drooping habit, especially if your hanging baskets are hung very high.
This type of arrangement occupies the space by using the verticality, it is necessary to take advantage of it, especially if you install only short plants you will have difficulty seeing them.
A suspension can contain one or more species of plants. Always make sure that their cultural needs are very close to ensure a beautiful success.
In your compositions, play with the foliage to give volume, texture and color. Plectranthus, mints or variegated ivy will add a certain charm to your hanging baskets.
Hanging baskets in all seasons
It is possible to stagger the blooms and vary the decorations from spring to late fall in your hanging baskets.
At the very beginning of spring, you can without worry consider planting pansies and violas in your pots, they resist well to the cold, as well as primroses or daisies that you will reserve for the middle of the compositions, the falling plants being planted on the sides to obtain a 'cascade' effect.
The small forget-me-nots bring a soft bluish tint which marries wonderfully with the pastel tones of the English carnations, you can also consider some narcissus in the center to create a contrast of colors and height.
If your hanging baskets are not too high up, a few hyacinth bulbs will distill their bewitching perfume! You can associate them with low wall bellflowers or saxifrage.
In summer, the hanging baskets are more likely to be adorned with purple scaevolas, which blend perfectly with the bright yellow of bidens or the pure white of lobelias. While we're on the subject of lobelias, the deep blue varieties will serve as the perfect backdrop for orange carnations planted in the center of the arrangement to give it height and color.
How can we talk about summer hanging baskets without mentioning ivy pelargoniums or surfinias! Very greedy in nutrients and taking a lot of space in the pot, it is preferable to plant them alone.
Waterfall verbenas with their shimmering colors are also part of the summer must-haves, you will find them in a wide range of colors that will satisfy the most jaded of gardeners.
For shade, there's nothing like the timeless drooping fuchsias, with their large bells of incredible beauty. Begonias pendula or cascade will also do the trick, as well as double impatiens with drooping habit.
To keep your hanging baskets looking beautiful in the fall, remember to remove wilted flowers throughout the season and fertilize regularly. You can also drastically prune the surfinias in August so that they start to grow again.
Replace the plants at the end of their blooming period with heathers or small varieties of chrysanthemums with a drooping habit and rely on evergreen, hardy and variegated foliage such as that of certain ivy to prolong the decor.
