Contemporary hanging baskets

Don't worry if you can't find the exact plants we used in each 'recipe'. Simply substitute them for a similar plant that will enjoy the same growing conditions. Other plants that would work in these schemes include osteospermums, sempervivums, bedding verbenas, erigeron and nemesias in full sun. In shade, alpine strawberries, plectranthus, dichondra and ivy would all work well.

Related content:

• Create a muscari hanging ball
• Plant a strawberry hanging basket
• Wildlife-friendly hanging basket

Once the displays are past their best, don't bin all the plants. Annual bedding plants can be composted, while perennials can be planted in the garden, or potted up into new containers for spring.

Boost the colour in your plot with these contemporary hanging baskets.

Annual bedding plants can be composted, while perennials can be planted in the garden, or potted up into new containers for spring

Shady characters

This collection of shade-lovers combines attractive foliage with plants that flower in shade. The fern, hosta and tiarella can all be planted out in the garden later on.

We used: Pelargonium 'Blanche Roche', Tiarella 'Cascade Creeper', Hosta 'Francee', Athyrium niponicum var. pictum.

Hot ticket

This group of sun-loving plants with vibrant flowers is ideal for a sunny patio, from mid to late summer.

We used: Argyranthemum 'Reflection Lemon Cream', Calibrachoa 'Can-can Terracotta' and 'Coral Reef', Begonia 'Apricot Shades'.

Pick and mix

Using flowers and foliage with similar colour tones rather than a kaleidoscope of colours gives a contemporary feel. Trailing plants like lophospermum, pelargonium and ipomoea will disguise a functional hanging basket.

We used: Ipomoea 'Sweetheart Purple', Argyranthemum 'Cherry Pink', Lophospermum 'Wine Red', Pelargonium 'Tomke'.

Sun bleached

Wind wicks away moisture but succulents with their fleshy leaves have adapted to cope with dry conditions. Pot up the plants in autumn before there's a frost, keep in a heated greenhouse or on a windowsill over winter, then plant out again in summer.

We used: Sedum spathulifolium, Echeveria 'Blue Waves', Senecio repens, Echeveria minima, Kalanchoe thrysiflora.

Mellow yellow

The zingy yellow-green foliage of the milium and pale flowers of the begonia and petunia are ideal for shady spots. This display will look good from early summer to autumn.

We used: Petunia 'Surfinia Lime', Milium effusum 'Aureum', Begonia 'Lemon Fizz', Helichrysum 'Silver Mist'.

Vivid imagination

This combination mixes textures and colours for dramatic effect. Plant the festuca in the garden or a pot in autumn. Trim the trailing stems of the lotus, pot it up and keep in a frost-free place over winter for next year.

We used: Festuca glauca, Begonia 'Glowing Embers', Begonia 'Bonfire', Lotus berthelotii.

Holding onto water

Add a small plastic saucer at the bottom of the basket to hold on to water. This will prove especially useful in baking summer weather. Some baskets have built-in water reservoirs.