Five top tips for stunning hanging baskets

Hanging baskets are the unsung heroes of many gardens and outdoor spaces, providing foliage and colour at height, and creating places to plant flowers on walls, balconies and other spaces that might otherwise be left bare.

If you want your hanging baskets to look the best they possibly can, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Here's our five top tips for stunning hanging baskets throughout the flowering season.

1. Choose the right container

First of all, don't neglect your choice of hanging basket itself. At Bents we stock a great range of Elho planters that offer a contemporary appearance suitable for all kinds of outdoor spaces.

If you're trying to add colour to a balcony, for instance, consider the Elho Corsica Flower Bridge, which straddles a fence or railing.

The Elho Corsica Vertical Forest can also hang from a balcony or from a wall, with three pots stacked above one another.

Or Elho Loft Urban Wall Baskets can be hung easily just using two fixing screws or hooks, to create some instant extra planting space in small and urban gardens.

2. Prepare your pots and planters

Whether you've gone for Elho wall planters or traditional hanging baskets, prepare the pot with plenty of rich, fertile soil.

If you're using last year's hanging baskets to create a new display of colourful flowers, mix some good compost into the old earth to boost the bounty of blooms you get during the coming growing season.

3. Plant your flowers

There are several options when it comes to the best way to plant hanging baskets with colourful flowers:

• Plant bulbs directly in the pot and let them grow in place.
• Grow from seed in trays and move into your hanging baskets as seedlings.
• Buy plug plants for hanging baskets for instant foliage without waiting.

It's up to you which method you use. Some people prefer the experience of growing and nurturing plants from seed, while others enjoy instant colour by buying more mature flowers that are ready to come into bloom.

4. Food and water

Give your flowers everything they need to grow, including plenty of fresh water - especially during hot sunny spells in spring and summer - and suitable plant food.

Irrigation depends again on the type of hanging baskets you are using. Some Elho containers include a built-in water reservoir to control the amount of moisture in the soil, without the need for such regular watering.

You can also set up an automated irrigation system for truly hands-free maintenance of hanging baskets, with your containers sprayed from permanently positioned pipes at the same time each day (ideally around sunset as the temperature is getting cooler).

5. Maximise visual impact

Finally, make sure to use different colours of flowers for even greater impact, including different coloured leaves if you want interesting foliage even when they are not in bloom.

Trailing plants for hanging baskets are an excellent option, as they make the best use of the height of the basket, and can work well alongside any climbing plants you already have on the adjacent wall.