With summer around the corner, we are all aware of the joy that a beautiful garden in full bloom can bring. But what if you don’t have any outdoor space? Well, the good news is that the once-ridiculed ‘granny’ hanging basket is having a moment.
But gone are the single-use plastic containers, garish, multicoloured pansies and half-dead marigolds that drooped over your nan’s front door.
Instead step forward cool, modern-day masterpieces in brass pots, with edible plants and colour-coordinated flowers that will last not only for the whole summer, but also offer an urban haven for bees, butterflies and moths.
‘Things have moved on a notch in the world of the garish hanging basket,’ says Thomas Broom Hughes, director of horticulture at Petersham Nurseries and lifestyle destination in Richmond, Surrey.
‘These days, the discerning gardener prefers muted, tonal colours and containers that complement and reflect their interiors.
‘And as well as looking good, they need to smell divine, too. Hang them at head height so you and your visitors enjoy the fragrance every time you open the
front door.’
Here, Thomas creates two cool and classy hanging baskets – one for a sunny
spot and one for the shade.
The best hanging basket for a sunny spot
Plants to use
Three Nemesia Wisley Vanilla, which have the most amazing fragrance
and will produce masses of white flowers on slender stems right through the summer.
Three Wild Strawberry. These produce the most delicious fruit and are edible six to eight weeks after planting. Great to pick fresh for your summer cocktails or a glass of prosecco. The plant also looks stunning as it rambles down the side of the container.
Three Bacopa, Snowflake. This white trailing plant produces big profusions of cascading, pretty white flowers and dainty green leaves. It’s very ‘Chelsea’ – you will see it in hanging baskets all along King’s Road.
Three Nepeta, variegated. This is a low-growing, evergreen trailer with interesting leaves – the white of the leaves enhances the flowers of the other plants in this basket. This plant also adds texture and hangs beautifully down the pot. Part of the catnip family, it has aromatic leaves.
How to assemble it
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