Wildlife-friendly hanging basket

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Thursday, 18 July 2019 at 10:00 am

Planted up with annual bedding plants, hanging baskets are typically devoid of wildlife value. Plant up an alternative, packed with pollen and nectar for bees, instead.

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Many hanging basket arrangements use bedding plants, which tend to be double-flowered, or are bred for long-lasting colour at the expense of nectar and pollen. This hanging basket display uses single-flowered bedding plants known for their attractiveness to wildlife, resulting in an attractive display that also provides food for bees and other pollinators.

Here, we’ve used conifer branches and lawn moss to line the basket. This not only has recycling value but provides hiding places for insects. The plants are widely available from garden centres – petunias and calibrachoas have blooms that attract moths, while verbena, lobelia and heliotrope are appealing to butterflies. The small white flowers of lobularia (sweet alyssum) attract tiny, beneficial wasps that help control garden pests, while bidens and diascias are great for bees.

You Will Need

Calibrachoa 'Caberet Series'
Bidens aurea
Lobelia maritima
Lobularia maritima
Petunia 'Easy Wave White'
Helitropium arborescens 'White Queen'
Verbena 'Temari Coral Pink'
Diascia 'Little Dancer'
Lobelia 'Little Dancer'
Multi-purpose, peat-free compost
Conifer clippings
Thatch and/or moss from your lawn
Slow-release fertiliser
Water-retaining granules

Step 1

Lining the hanging basket with conifer branches

Rather than using sphagnum moss, which may be taken from peat bogs, line your basket with conifer clippings and moss gathered from your lawn, instead. Add plenty of material to create a good, solid base to your basket.

Step 2

Lining the basket with plastic, to conserve moisture

Add a couple of pieces of plastic – cut from an old compost bag or similar – to help retain moisture in the basket. Pierce a couple of drainage holes in the plastic, to avoid waterlogging.

Step 3

Trimming the conifer foliage

Clip around any conifer foliage poking out of the sides of the hanging basket, for a neat finish. Add extra leaves around the edge of needed.

Step 4

Planting the larger plants in the centre of the hanging basket

Fill the basket two-thirds full with compost and add slow-release fertiliser to encourage growth and water-retaining gel to ensure the compost stays moist. Plant the larger, upright specimens, such as the heliotrope and verbena, in the middle first.

Step 5

Adding the trailing plants around the edge of the basket

Add the trailing plants around the edge of the hanging basket. Space the plants evenly and fill any gaps with more compost.

Step 6

Watering the hanging basket

The basket is now ready. Don’t water it until you’ve hung it up, because that will make it heavy and awkward to lift.

Kevin Smith says...

Position this basket in a bright, sunny spot to get the best results from the flowers. Water every day and deadhead the blooms regularly to keep things neat and encourage more flowers to come.

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