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 There is something miraculous in an eye-catching hanging basket brimming with summer flowers. Hanging baskets are often regarded as a gardening cliche that does not really have a place in a modern garden. It is time that we took another look at these most rewarding of floral displays.
What surprises most gardeners who have successfully planted a hanging basket is the way the living plants arrange themselves - quite often despite our best artistic intentions! Nearly always a carefully designed and planted basket will decide where it wishes to grow rather than be forced along a constrained design path. Rather than be viewed as a negative point, this random element adds a little touch of mystery to each arrangement.
There are, of course, a few basics that cannot be neglected. You need to start with a reasonable selection of plants that will develop into a well-balanced combination of colours. Watering and feeding must be kept up and to keep the basket smart you need to trim off dead flowers and leaves regularly and occasionally cut off over-vigorous growths. But, virtually unaided, the plants will interweave with a nonchalant artistry that gives the hanging basket its special appeal.
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