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70<br />
Winter<br />
Hanging Baskets<br />
Hanging baskets are a great way to create a miniature<br />
gardening space with your choice of colours. Once<br />
established they make even the gloomiest back yard<br />
look more cheerful, or the prettiest patio look even more<br />
gorgeous.<br />
Plenty of plants make for a colourful basket and your local<br />
garden centre or nursery should have a good selection,<br />
including winter-flowering pansies (I am fond of the<br />
purple and yellow varieties) and heathers, Gaultheria<br />
with its waxy red berries, dianthus for late autumn into<br />
early winter and assorted miniature shrubs, including<br />
variegated Pieris, Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ and<br />
variegated euonymus, to help give structure and colour.<br />
The shrubs will look great in a container for a year or two,<br />
before being planted in the garden.<br />
A thicker, almost felt-like liner provides insulation in cold<br />
weather as well as keeping the compost and plants in<br />
place. I suggest a 35cm (14”) diameter basket as it can<br />
take more plants and, because it is larger, resists cold<br />
better. You’ll also need compost.<br />
<strong>St</strong>and the basket in a large flowerpot before you start to<br />
prevent it rolling about. Once the liner is in place, remove<br />
the chain at one anchor point to stop it getting in the way.<br />
The liner will protrude above the basket edge at this stage<br />
but this helps to keep the compost in place. Use good<br />
quality multi-purpose compost, firming it gently, and fill<br />
the basket about half full.<br />
Mesh baskets allow for easy side planting. Cut holes in the<br />
liner then insert small plants such as pansies at regular<br />
intervals around the sides of the basket, inserting them<br />
from the outside inwards to reduce damage. Nestle the<br />
roots into the compost and make sure that the liner is<br />
back in position after the last plant is in place.<br />
Add more compost to cover the roots of the side plantings<br />
and firm again gently. Next get the central plant in place<br />
and add three more upright plants such as miniature<br />
shrubs, equally spaced around the edges.<br />
For extra colour, add more winter bedding plants around<br />
the very outermost edge of the basket. Pinch out any<br />
faded flowers and add more compost, carefully filling in<br />
any gaps before watering thoroughly.<br />
Your hanging basket will soon fill out but stand it in<br />
a sheltered spot for a week or two to allow the roots<br />
to establish before hanging it in position, watering if<br />
necessary. Regular deadheading and removal of faded<br />
flowers plus a feed with a high potash fertiliser after about<br />
a month will keep it looking great, well into the spring.<br />
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