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Variations on Hanging Containers
 There are many commercially made containers in terracotta and plastic that are designed to be suspended in the same way as hanging baskets. However, like most improvised containers, these do not have an open framework and all the planting must be at the top.
You do not have to be limited to a conventional hanging style of basket, although they are perhaps the easiest to use. You could consider recycling an old kitchen colander, giving it a new lease of life in the garden. The straining holes are perfect for drainage, although it is best to consider using smaller varieties for planting. Almost any container that you could suspend can be used, old kettles, saucepans, planters, buckets, anything, just so long as you can make adqueate drainage holes and the container is not too heavy or cumbersome to be hung.
Extending the Season
 The difficulty of achieving a rich and vigorous planting between autumn and spring explains the generally neglected state of hanging baskets for half the year. There are a few simple ways of filling the gap, however. Although the freest-flowering plants in the off-season are bulbs, their upright growth unfortunately does not make them ideally suited to life in hanging baskets. Winter-flowering pansies are the most reliable standby and a good ivy makes a suitable companion. For a more lavish planting, experiment with polyanthus and other early primrose hybrids.
Many gardeners find that it is easier to extend the main season rather than plant for the offseason. In an Indian summer late-planted baskets can make a magnificent display, fuchsias often doing exceptionally well. The season can be extended at the other end by early planting of baskets with hardy material such as pansies and Tropaeolum majus hybrids. If you have a greenhouse, glassed-in porch or other protected area you can even start a basket off early with half-hardy plants, ready to go outside when the weather is warm enough.
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