Everything you need to know about hanging baskets

Hanging baskets are an easy and affordable way to brighten up your outdoor space, adding height, interest and a pop of colour to your garden at eye level. Not only do they make a gorgeous front garden feature to welcome visitors to your home, but they also look great in your backyard and you can even hang them indoors if you want to add some greenery to your living space.

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There are lots of options when it comes to planting hanging baskets but you can use whatever takes your fancy, including flowers, herbs and fruit, to create an interesting and colourful display. Hanging baskets can be coordinated with beds and borders to give your garden a matching look or make them stand out with their own distinctive style. Keep things simple with a single type of plant or mix and match a variety of flowers for maximum impact; the choice is yours.

You can use almost any small plant for a hanging basket, just make sure it doesn’t outgrow the container. Here’s everything you need to know about hanging baskets and what you should be planting...

What plants to use in hanging baskets

What to plant in your hanging basket really depends on the season. Creeping jenny, geraniums and pansies will look great in the summer, while ivy, ornamental sedge and primulas work best in winter but can be used all year round.

If you’re going for a classic look, stick to traditional plants. According to Alan Titchmarsh, surfinia petunias, fuchsias, zonal pelargoniums and trailing ivy are all old faithfuls. Hanging baskets are also ideal for growing fruit like tomatoes and strawberries as they will be kept safe from slugs or snails.

When to plant hanging baskets

The Royal Horticultural Society advises that summer hanging baskets should be planted from April onwards, however they will need protection from frost until mid to late May. Winter hanging baskets can be planted between September and October but won’t need protecting from frost as the plants should be more resilient.

How to plant hanging baskets

You will need:

Indoor hanging baskets

Hanging baskets are a great way to add some colour to your home, if you want to bring the outside in, particularly for smaller areas as it saves on floor space. They’re ideal for dried or artificial flowers but can be used for real plants too – just make sure you use an inner plant pot to catch the water. There are two main types of indoor hanging planters; hanging plant pots which are suspended from a hook, rack or ceiling and wall hanging planters which are often mounted to the wall.

Check out these hanging baskets and hooks