Big full hanging baskets are a beautiful sight. Their colours and fragrances are always a welcome summertime treat. Hanging baskets can be combinations of purple and gold, yellows and reds, pinks and soft blues, or a mixed-up riot of colour, but for some reason some baskets always look better than others. Some baskets are bigger, longer lasting, have more non-stop colour, give off more perfume, and seem to do it all effortlessly. How can this be? Simple - there’s more to just buying a basket and hanging it up. A great hanging basket requires care, preparation and planning.

It’s important to pick the perfect basket for its location. A morning sunspot with afternoon shade, for instance, requires a shady basket. An afternoon or full sun location needs a sunny basket. When choosing your baskets pay attention to size - the larger the basket the better.

Large baskets are easier to water and allow the plants to develop properly. Moss baskets are lovely but require extra watering. If you are stuffing your own basket use a soil specifically designed for hanging baskets; it will be light weight, have the ability to hold water, and be specifically designed to keep your baskets looking their best. All baskets need to be watered and fed. They require regular maintenance such as deadheading and monitoring for insects or disease. A daily watering and weekly feeding with a foliar organic fertilizer is best. At planting or purchase time you can also add a slow release fertilizer to the top of the basket. This will release through the season each time the basket is watered. When watering be sure to water to the point of overflow; this will help drain away extra salts from the fertilizers, and keep your basket soil healthy.

Baskets come in all shapes and sizes from standard plastic, wire hangers (lined with moss, wool, or coco fibre), cedar planters, and my personal favourite - wicker baskets. A wicker basket is wonderful and romantic and can be reused year after year.

Today wicker is available in many colours including natural, purple and even blue. Be sure your wicker baskets have strong handles - hanging baskets only get heavier as the season grows on! Another great tip when hanging your basket is to use a basket twirler. These are double swivel hooks that attach to your bracket and then to your basket. They allow the basket to move in the wind, and they let you rotate your basket every 10 days to make sure the sun is hitting all sides!

When it comes to choosing plants for your baskets look for Proven Winners. These plants are chosen for their dependability, beauty and ability to perform. Proven Winners will add tons of colour, fragrance, and style to your garden. Here are some you should definitely consider for your baskets!

For Sun:

    1. Bacopa: A plant from Australia offering up to 10”long and wide of tiny white blooms on mass, trailing profusely down the side of any basket or container. Will bloom till frost.
    2. Bidens “Peters Gold Carpet”: From Germany, wonderful thick gold yellow flowers, amongst deep green ferny foliage. Trailing, Fast growing, up to 12” long and wide.
    3. Surfinia “Lime”: From Japan, a petunia known for its durability and weather resistance. Soft chartreuse trailing flowers all season long, perfect compliment to any other colour!
    4. Lamium “Golden Anniversary”; From England wonderfully thick plant offering gold/green foliage and soft pink flowers.
    5. Verbena “Neon Rose”; From the Netherlands these hardy verbenas are known for their foliage and flowers, excellent vibrant colour all summer long.
    6. Bracteantha “Golden Beauty”; A heavy blooming plant with golden straw flowers, perfect for the middle of any sun basket or container.
    7. Supertunias: From Brazil these are fast growing and have weather resistant blossoms. Available in tons of colours, for fragrance try the deep blue or “Veined” varieties. The humming birds love these!

You’ll notice these favourites are from all around the world and you won’t have to travel the world to find them; they are available now at a garden centre near you. Look for the line of Proven Winners offering style, quality and dependability.

A Perfect Combination for a sunny basket is:

1 Red Geranium and golden Beauty Bracteantha, surrounded by 1 of each of the following, Bidens, Bacopa, Verbena, Million Bells, heliotrope and Lamium.