Easy hanging basket

staceysteve

I'd like to do a hanging basket for the spring summer but I am no gardener and I'd like something easy and hardy - possibly even something that last through winter or come up each year?
I'm going to get a basket you attach to the wall it will get some direct sunlight.
Any tips for a real novice?

Farway

I think the plant you want does not exist, at least for a hanging basket

Try and get the wall basket with a built in water reservoir, it will save loosing the lot one hot sunny day

Trailing fuchia do well, but few are hardy for overwintering so you would need to move into a conservatory/ garage / shed to protect over winter

Of course you could grow trailing cherry tomatoes, but not hardy

Trailing Lobelia is the common solution, easy [buy small plants] but die every year

No doubt others have more suggestions

Grandmasu

Hello, Like you I have not got green fingers and I had a hanging basket over the summer which I bought (ready planted) at a car boot fair. and was very pleased with it. Naturally as they were annual plants they died in the late autumn and I bought a replacement from Morrisons with winter flowering pansies. They only cost £4.99 and I have been delighted at how well they are doing especially since they spent some time covered in snow and I did not protect them from the frost at all.

Maybe something like this might suit you?

Newbird

You can use Ivy, to trail around the edges with some small daffodil bulbs and crocus as a base, these will stay alive thru the year, and come back each year, as long as the bulbs don't rot. You can then add Winter or Spring to Autumn bedding plants of your choice in the top bit which will fill the space between the bulbs and for Winter before the bulbs come up.

If you get a container and basket book from your local library you will find
'recipes' for what to use and they will include Winter basket and perennial basket ideas so you can have something all year round.

I'm afraid hanging baskets do require some work to start with, if you do them yourself and then careful looking after thru each season. You can't forget to water them, or leave them while you go on holiday and expect them to be ok when you return!

You can usually get ready planted baskets for a reasonable price, at markets and car boots, sometimes for less than it would cost to do your own, and they will be appropriate for the season they are being sold in.

So you just buy a Winter display in late Autumn to replace your Summer ones as Grandmasu says above.

HTH

Rosebud24

Some grasses would provide some height and year round structure. I was in B&Q yesterday and they do a pack of three for £4.99 - a variegated grass, a blue grass and a taller green grass. A minature cypress would also give some structure and last for years. I would best describe this shrub as being like a tiny fir tree but bright green in colour.

You could add a minature variegated ivy to provide a pretty trailing element. Then, as Newbird suggested, you could add seasonal flowers for a bit of colour. With the other plants already in there, you could get away with just adding one per basket for a subtle hint of colour. Pansies are popular for winter, though primroses are my favourite and really hardy. And for summer you can take your pick! Morrisons are really good for well priced plug plants.

If you decide to buy a basket already planted up, look out for reduced ones in DIY stores. They often seem to have reduced ones, I think perhaps because they don't always look after their plants and they wilt! I bought some for £2.00 each from Homebase a few months ago. There were some reduced in B&Q yesterday, I'm not sure how much though.

I love your suggestions about bulbs Newbird - why haven't I thought of this before?! :T

Rosebud24

Further to my previous post, B&Q are offering a voucher for 15% off on their website, www.diy.com. It lasts until Saturday 30th January.

delmar39

I agree with Grandmasu above. You can get some decent hanging baskets for under £5 (countdown do them). By the time you've bought your plants and materials you'll probably spend more than this, plus there's the time of course. It's nice to do your own, but just as easy and cheap to buy them.

Yorkshire_Lavender

How about Alpines? ie. Sompervivums/or herbs ie thymes, rosemary sage etc.

LilacPixie

I grow strawberrys in hanging baskets. pretty and nice to eat.

Farway

Yorkshire_Lavender wrote: »

How about Alpines? ie. Sompervivums/or herbs ie thymes, rosemary sage etc.

Thyme may be OK, but sage & rosemary grow into large bushes without pruning, and OP wanted "easy" so I guess not suitable