Hanging Container Gardens

Take a look at the porches around your neighborhood. Are many of them dotted with suspiciously similar flower groupings in containers dangling from spindly wires? Bring back old Southern charm by fixing up a woven wicker basket to set yours apart. You'll need three S-hooks to attach three lengths of chain on opposing edges of a basket that has a wire framework (to shore up the infrastructure). Use another S-hook at the top to loop the chains together, and attach it to the ceiling. Then, plant with a variety of hanging basket essentials: sheet moss and "Kimberly Queen" fern to fill, pink geranium to thrill, and "Aqua Marine" pilea to spill. Geraniums exert a lot of energy to support blooms. Once flowers start to droop, snap them off so the plant can focus on new growth.

You can combine pansies and herbs in this hanging basket. It can hang on your front door for a warm welcome or out in your garden for easy use when cooking fall stews.

To put this basket together: Find a hanging basket at your local hardware or crafts store (Be sure to choose a lined one if you plan to display it on your door,) Fill it with good-quality potting soil, add yellow garden pansies and radiant marigolds to give the arrangement bright bursts of color, Add baby kale for a dose of purple, Add cilantro (growing along the handle), golden lemon thyme (on the bottom left), and Italian oregano (on the bottom right) for a usefull and edible hanging basket.

Prep Tip
Fill the space at the bottom of your basket with empty plastic bottles to keep the weight down.

The key to this rustic aesthetic is not overplanting the container. Give the flowers space to breathe. This rusty metal bucket—a flea market find—is studded with periwinkles, Rieger begonias, coleus, and other annuals but not overcrowded, which can keep the plants from getting adequate light. Suspending the arrangement on a branch adds to the casual, easy-does-it charm.

This woven wicker basket is a natural way to decorate a bare wall in an outdoor space. Pink zinnias and yellow tuberous begonias are the focal points (or “thrillers”), blue Cape plumbago and golden lantana add an extra hint of drama, and English ivy cascades over the side.

Try varying the scale of flowers and greenery to produce the wildly untamed, “growing in a garden” feel that keeps this basket relaxed. In this sphagnum moss-lined metal hanging basket, larger dianthus blend with smaller petunias, while variegated English ivy and tiny baby’s tears dangle over the sides.

A mix of structural succulents takes center stage in a simple hanging fiberclay planter. Purple fan flower punctuates the lush greenery, which offers a refreshing contrast to the deep, dark container suspended in the air.

When a basket is this rich in detail, hang it low enough that you can enjoy looking at the plants that are in it, rather than the bottom of the pot. Container recipe: 1. Rush(Juncussp.) 2. Oyster Plant (tradescantia spathacea ‘Vittata’) 3. Echeveria (echeveria sp.) 4. String of Pearls (senecio rowleyanus)

A cool well pulley adds an unexpected twist to this hanging basket. Start with water-soaked sheet moss inside a wire basket, and then add a layer of plastic with punched holes. Fill the container with a mixture of potting mix and composted manure, and you have the perfect pot for planting. Container recipe: 1. 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia 2. Asparagus Fern 3. Pink Tuberous Begonia 4. 'Key Lime Pie' heuchera 5. 'Dragon Wing' pink begonia 6. 'Sinbad' angel-wing begonia

The cascading form of ivy geraniums makes them ideal for hanging baskets and window boxes. This basket is filled with the ‘Sophie Cascade’ variety.

This pink ‘Dragon Wing’ begonia drips with flowers throughout the summer and into fall. Combine it with ‘Silver Falls’ dichondra for a splash of color against shimmering foliage.

Calibrachoas in red, purple, and yellow fill out fast with blooms that look like miniature petunias.

Add charm with hanging ferns—a quintessential feature for any Southern porch. Cheery containers also add inviting color to this porch.

Hang your baskets in unexpected places. A hook installed in a tree branch holds this basket featuring a sensational combination of impatiens, spider plant, begonias, ferns, and ivy which are perfect for the shade.