Don't hang about if you want beautiful baskets

YOU can buy hanging baskets pretty cheaply these days from garden centres, but the choice of colour and plant is often limited, so it’s much more satisfying to do it yourself.

Wire baskets are among the most popular, which you can either line with sphagnum moss, coconut fibre or other eco-friendly made-to-fit material with ready-made holes at the sides so you can plant into the side of the basket as well as out of the top of it.

I usually add a smaller circle of black polythene to the inner base of the liner to reduce water seepage.

But there are also many pretty closed-sided baskets on the market which are easier to plant as you only have to put plants in the top, and easier to water, but you can’t achieve the all-round effect you can with an open-sided basket.

For me, the biggest bugbear about hanging baskets is the watering, but you can now buy compost which is specially formulated for containers, incorporating water-retaining agents and feed.

If you can’t find that and are just using annuals in your basket, go for multi-purpose compost, adding water-retaining granules to the liner before the compost, and slow-release plant food pellets.

If you are planting a longer-lasting basket with more permanent plants such as hostas and heucheras, or evergreens including skimmias and variegated ivies, use John Innes No 2 compost.

For open-sided baskets, place the basket on top of a bucket, which will allow easy access from all sides. Insert the liner and press it into position.

Have your compost in a bucket, so you can add your pre-soaked water-retaining crystals to it, as well as slow-release fertiliser granules, and mix thoroughly.

If you want to plant through the sides of the basket and the holes in the liner aren’t pre-cut, make cuts in the liner for each plant using a knife.

Add enough compost to the basket to level off below the side holes, then plant your plants through the holes, either from the outside, compressing the roots so they will go through the holes, or from the inside, carefully feeding the shoots through the hole.

Build up another layer of compost, firming those first plants as you go, and continue planting. Trailing plants such as lobelia, verbena and bacopa should be planted around the sides and at the edge of the top of the basket, while upright plants should be placed in the centre.

While historically hanging baskets have incorporated a riot of different colours and plant varieties, more recently, people have gone for single varieties.

erhaps that’s because they tend to be lower maintenance as the same plants will have the same needs in terms of watering and feeding.

If you are planting cherry tomatoes such as ‘Hundreds and Thousands’ or ‘Tumbler’ in a hanging basket, water-retaining granules will not be sufficient and you’ll need to water the basket twice a day in summer and feed regularly with tomato plant food.

Don’t want to be a slave to the watering can? Go for drought-tolerant plants such as pelargoniums, helichrysum, osteospermum and diascia. Of course, additional greenery such as ivy will rarely let you down.

And remember that if you are planting your baskets up now, most of the annuals you use won’t be frost hardy, so make sure you bring them under a porch or under cover in the evening until all chance of frost has passed.

BEST OF THE BUNCH: TULIPS

THERE are tulips for every setting, from delicate species and dwarf varieties to frilly parrots and majestic Darwin, triumph and lily-flowered types, plain, striped, flamed, single and double.

They can be used in many ways - in a mixed border, in a bedding scheme adding uniformity in height and colour, or in rockeries or containers. In mixed borders, you can plant them alongside other plants that will cover the bare ground before the tulips emerge and after they die down.

Violas, polyanthus, double daisies and wallflowers are among their most common companions.

For dramatic effect plant single varieties of the same colour in pots, avoiding the types with weak stems and heavy flowers with a tendency to flop.

Using multi-purpose compost, plant bulbs close together with at least three to four times the depth of the bulb covering them, but leaving enough space for the flowers to open.

Good container types include T. 'Queen of Night', with silky purple-black flowers and 'World's Favourite', with glowing orange-red blooms, edged with gold.

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: CHINESE CABBAGE

You can sow all types of oriental greens now to harvest in the summer, but Chinese cabbage takes some beating if harvested young, when the leaves are smaller and tender. Chinese cabbages are either tall and cylindrical or barrel-shaped, and the latter are more suited to our UK climate.

They have a mild flavour and crunchy texture and can be used instead of iceberg lettuce. Sow small amounts at two or three-week intervals for a continuous crop and water them regularly to keep the growth strong. Chinese cabbage will bolt if transplanted from a seedbed, so sow them directly into their final resting places and thin them out later.

They need spacing of 30-38cm each way to produce heads and should be planted in soil which has had plenty of compost added before planting.

You should be able to start harvesting from August. Chinese cabbage isn’t very frost-hardy, so cover later sowings with cloches or garden fleece. Good varieties include ‘Kasumi’ and ‘Early Jade Pagoda’.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

• Sow fast-maturing and late-flowering annuals directly into their flowering position
• Move overwintered hardy annuals to their final flowering position
• Water and feed plants in the greenhouse regularly
• Feed seedlings and young plants which are growing poorly or have pale, yellowing foliage
• Take leaf cuttings from plants with thick, fleshy leaves including African violets, sedum and hoya.
• If you haven’t yet done so, cover calabrese and cauliflowers with fleece or fine mesh to keep the pests out
• Remove blanket weed from the pond to let oxygen in
• Sow tender crops under cover including climbing French and runner beans, courgettes and sweetcorn