This is the season when we cover our houses with “Fruit Salad” , “Eton Mess” and a “Million Kisses”
And we row about lobelias and trailing sufinia, get all obstinate over impatiens and huffy about zonal pelargoniums.
Nothing causes more tension , disagreements and rows than a hanging basket.
The secret to a hanging basket is one person should do it and the other sulk at a distance and then tell them where to put it.
A hanging basket should never be shared. That only causes trouble. The ideal hanging basket is the one that only one person has planted. Collaboration is not advisable when it comes to hanging baskets. You will inevitably fall out.
Usually over fuchsia.
We had a saying in our family that “ Too many chefs spoil the half-hardy annual sundae.”
“Had” because we don’t argue about hanging baskets any more. We have our own brackets and coir. And recipes for success.
Making a hanging basket is like making a meal. You have certain ingredients and it’s up to you how you use them. Everyone has their own ideas about how little and how much.
Or, not at all.
My wife and I both like a good summer cascade.
But I think my wife’s displays are too blowsy. She thinks me too staid. She hates lobelia. I hate begonias. And loathe fushcia in a basket. Thye never look right to me. They alwayslook wrong. “Stunning” to her means “grish” to me. She employs pansies amd violas. I wish she didn’t.
It’s the same in the kitchen. My wife cooks with salt. I don’t. I use a lot of black pepper and garlic. She doesn’t. She prefers olive oil. I prefer butter.
In the garden , for her hanging basket, she uses verbena. I don’t. I use Calibrachoa (Million Bells). She can’t stand them. The only thing we realy agree on is ivy. Neither of us uses that. Or ferns. Nasturtium are no-nos and their use confined to salads rather than public art. Black-eyed Susans are better elsewhere. Like sweet alyssum which is best in walls. Where they look like they have self-seeded. I believe verbena is lost in a hanging baskets. My wife plainly doesn’t.
We both love geraniums. In a window box.
We agree to differ about bacopa.
My wife loves Begonia ‘Million Kisses’ which blooms into autumn. But she is susceptible to root rot. This is because she is prone to overwatering. As a cook, her sprouts similarly incline to sogginess.
Dwarf roses can look nice in a hanging basket. As cup-shaped diascia and nemesia. In my opinion although not my soul mate’s. My wife believes you cant have enough osteospernum. I believe you can. And easily.
Colourful “spillers” cheer up patios, doorways and balconies. A lightweight, peat-free potting compost and slow-release fertiliser granules and water-retaining gel are must before planting. And a good, long hose.
Marital and horticultural harmony has been achieved in our household. My wife grows from seed and buys plugs and I buy ready-planted direct from Thompson & Morgan, J.Parker’s or our nearest garden centre.
Its save on all that “ Those just don’t go together. That’s in the wrong place. That should be more in the centre And that shouldnt be there, it should be there. You have too much of that and not enough of that. And that looks stupid.”
At least, my wife’s experiment with growing strawberries and blackberries in hanging baskets by the back door was short -lived. I kept hitting my head on them, making my scapp look like it was bleeding and developed an unsightly birthmark. Growing strawberries in hanging baskets means they aren’t attacked by slugs or snails.
Instead the fruit attacks humans
Every year, we continue to hear our neighbour rowing over their baskets. Last summer, they had a huge tiff when she accused him of letting her Tumbelina petunias dry out.
His defence was that the hose didn’t reach far enough.
Thompson & Morgan’s Hanging Basket Do’s and Don’ts
- Always use a quality compost and slow release fertiliser such as incredicompost and incredibloom
- Choose the rights plants – not all are suited to baskets, go for low growing or trailing summer bedding varieties
- Choose baskets with side planting holes for the fullest display of flowers
- Don’t forget to remove the first flowers and pinch back early shooting tips to encourage rooting and side shooting and masses of colour across the season.
- Don’t let flowers go over or go to seed, this wastes plant energy and reduces further flowering.
- Don’t place baskets in full sun for the whole day, risking drying out. 6hours sunshine and daily watering should keep them in top condition
T&M Nursery Manager, Kris Collins said: “We have the widest range of seasonal bedding plug plants for our customers to get creative with in their baskets. From the ever-popular Geranium ‘Grandeur Power Red’ or trailing ‘Balcon Mix’ and our bestselling Begonia ‘Apricot Shades’ to the more unusual including Rhodochiton atrosanguineus (trailing bell vine) or our White Basket Duo of Nemesia and Bacopa. For the time-strapped gardener we also offer a range of pre-planted options for instant display on arrival.”