I must confess, when I think of „hanging baskets“, the first thing that comes to mind are those awful, knotted macramé/pot constructions that were found in almost every apartment in the late 80s. Granted I was quite young in the late 80’s but these things were so awful (in my opinion) that they were literally burned into my very young child’s memory. #sonotchic

Semi-traumatized by the 80s version, I have consequently avoided everything that looked like it like the plague. What a waste, as it turns out. Especially now in late summer / fall when the beds slowly begin to empty and also the balcony flowers don’t have too much longer, the thought of a little more color and flowers on the terrace or balcony is absolutely obvious.

What kind of hanging baskets are there?

Flower hanging baskets, or let’s call them „hanging planters“ – sounds a little nicer, come in all sorts of variations and sizes for indoors and out. Since my flower arrangement should find its place in the garden, I decided on the variant of iron and coconut fiber.

What plants are best to plant in hanging baskets?

Basically, depending on where you want the hanging basket to hang (sunny / shade / semi-shade), you can plant almost anything in them that will fit in a normal flower box and does not grow too high. I personally have chosen a mixture of different seasonal hanging periwinkle plants and, small carnations and a single white Salvia plant. The periwinkle grows down with time and keeps its color, the small carnation plant provides the necessary „fullness“ in the planter and the salvia creates with its approx. 20-30cm the necessary height and dimension. Of course you can also use other plants, it is only important that they are adapted to the season and do not become too large.

How to plant a hanging basket?

Very straight forward. I always put all my single plants in the planter first and see how they fit best, or how I like them best. This is pure personal preference. The only thing to note is that the hanging / downward growing plants such as evergreen or ivy, should be placed at the edge and turned so that the individual branches already hang over the edge. Also the high growing plant should not be placed completely in the middle. Visually, it makes for a more exciting picture if the highest point of the arrangement is also somewhat „off center“. Additionally it would also disturb as soon as you hang up the planter.

Once the placement of each plant is decided, fill the bottom of the planter with a thin layer of soil, place the individual plants on top and with a small shovel or by hand, fill in the resulting gaps with soil until everything is firmly in place. That’s it.

The nice thing about these planters with coconut fiber is, who wants can also take a sharp knife and cut a small „X“ into the coconut fiber to laterally insert additional ivy or similar plants.

Finally, water moderately, so that everything can grow well and done is a beautiful modern planter that blooms until late autumn on your terrace and balcony.

Are you fans of hanging planters? If so, what do you usually plant?