How to make an award-winning hanging basket
We’re catching up with Anne Wells and Sue Unwin who have been making award-winning hanging baskets for their Cambridgeshire town of Chatteris for 18 years.
We first met Anne and Sue when they expressed outrage at their local council asking them to take a health and safety course and now they’re sharing their expertise and showing us how to create a summer display that will brighten up any outdoor space.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A SHOW STOPPING BASKET:
1. Find a good quality basket: wicker lined ones are always good as they are prepped and ready to go. There are various options you can choose from depending on your garden look.
TOP TIPS: Use a round cut from the compost bag to place at the bottom of the basket if you don’t have a lined one. This means it can hold onto water for longer. If already lined, cut small holes to let water out the sides.
2. Always use peat free compost: Going peat-free is great for the environment, and since many new mixes have been developed in recent years for every need, your plants will be happy too. Any multipurpose, peat-free compost will be sufficient.
TOP TIPS: Sit the basket in a terracotta pot to keep it steady when filling, fill the basket one third of the way up with compost.
3. Pick your plants: There are so many different plants you can pick to make the perfect basket. Bedding plants work the best and a mixture of colours is always good to include.
Some of the flowers they like to use are:
Geranium and trailing geranium
Trailing petunia
Trailing fuchsia
Trailing lobelia
TOP TIPS: Plant the root ball of your first trailing plant and gently thread the foliage through the basket, adding more compost to cover the root ball. Make sure to add trailing plants to the edges and plants to the centre of the basket to create a focal point
4. Remember to water: Watering baskets regularly is key and most can need watering every single day. So make sure you are caring for your plants and keeping them hydrated. That routine is going to make the difference between a great basket and a good one.