When you see those huge, tumbling, beautifully-flowering hanging baskets in open gardens, outside pubs or strung up on lamp posts through summer,
for gardeners it's always with an envious eye that we look at them. How on earth do they get to be so teeming with flowers and foliage and looking so perfect? The key to their success is constant care, more so than with standard container planting.
Watering is key to keep them looking fresh and fabulous
Dense planting and taking steps to ensure water doesn't drain away too much helps, so line the basket with absorbent matting. Then water, water, and water again!
Don't feed every time you water, just do that weekly. If you're at the planting stage, however, you can add some slow-release feed pellets to aid the plants during summer.
Putting a hanging basket in a windy spot may stress the plants, as they'll lost moisture, so consider where your baskets will go and that you may have to further increase the amount of water you give them!
