With designer gardens making the most of available space
for paving, decks, patios with fountains and water gardens,
the focus on container gardening in limited spaces,
hanging gardens are making a comeback in the gardening world
with eye catching colours, shades of greens,
the geometry of leaf design capturing the focus of the moment.
In an article by from DEBORAH BOGLE, SA Weekend in August 5, 2016 10:00pm,
Deborah said “In a recent column I airily dismissed hanging baskets as a tizzy throwback to the ’70s”
she continued to say “and, it seems, hanging baskets are enjoying something of a revival“.
From the streets of Victoria BC, the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia,
and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada’s Pacific coast,
where hanging baskets have been hung every June
to celebrate the start of their summer since 1937.
The trademark display attracts visitors from all over the world.
There are numerous reasons to have hanging baskets.
bring the outdoor inside
a way to add eye-level colour to decks and porches
a much loved favourite featuring plants
And the Aussie favourite hanging baskets in trees
And there are plenty of instructions showing how to assemble,
pot and best plants to use,
all you have to do is choose where to hang them and what to plant in them.
Hanging Basket Kits
Buying hanging basket kit is an easy and economical way to get hanging baskets.
In kit form the postage is very economical, if the baskets were made up the postage
value is more than the cost of the basket and sometimes the liner combined.
I have been making these hanging baskets for quite a long time, selling them at the local markets,
eg Eumundi and Caboolture, in south east Qld. When I became too busy to go to the markets,
I discovered leaving them in the deconstructed mode was the best way to transport them.
And most people can work out how to put them together.
They take me approximately 10 minutes to put together, others find it takes them 1/2hour and others need a friend.
You need
a pair of pliers, maybe a screwdriver – if you make a mistake
And a pair of gardening gloves is handy – the pliers can pinch – ouch!!
Ohh, and plenty of space to spread the parts out.
The parts
The base –
8 x fig 8 loop for 25cm, 30cm and 35cm diameter baskets
12 x fig 8 loop for 40cm and 50cm diameter baskets
16 x fig 8 loop for 60cm diameter baskets
And the 75cm diameter basket has a 16 x zigzag base.
The sides….
These come in 4 sizes,
Small – for 25cm baskets,
Medium – for 30cm and 40cm baskets
Large – for 35cm, 50cm and 60cm baskets
Extra Large – for 75cm baskets.
The Hangers….
3 sizes
Small – used for 25cm, 30cm and 35cm baskets
Large – for 40cm, 50cm and 60cm baskets,
Extra large – for 75cm baskets (not shown in photo)
The hooks….
Small – 1 for 25cm,30cm and 35cm baskets
Medium – 2 for 40cm,50cm, 60cm and 75cm baskets
And that’s all the parts
How to assemble the hanging basket kits
Videos
These are a couple of videos I have done so far.
The basket kits aren’t hard to assemble once you understand the system.
All the sizes are multiples of 8, and the sides are basically a basket weave – over one then under next, then over again.
Keeping the rhythm all the way round till they come together.
Hanging baskets provide colour, atmosphere, privacy and …..
they can look fabulous.
Hanging baskets have been around forever, everybody has heard of the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The city of Victoria BC has made hanging baskets their trademark. In 2015, 1035 hanging baskets were assembled by the City’s Parks staff, they have become a major icon for the capital because of one man, Herb Warren, with the most decadent flower baskets hanging from the lamp posts in the shopping districts every summer.
The traditional hanging basket liner has been the coco fibre or coir liner made from the husk of the coconut, being a natural fibre, this is great you would think. But after a year or so, they need to be re-potted.
So to keep up with the pace, even hanging baskets liners are evolving, now the Eco Aus Liner, a long lasting reusable hanging basket liner can be used in your hanging baskets.
Have you seen this.., I’m sure we all have.
Or if you have an urge to hang a few baskets, because you’ve found a few second hand baskets at a garage sale or on gumtree,
and now you need liners for them.
So measuring the baskets for new EAL liners – because they last…
First of all you could just go to the local hardware or nursery supplier for new liners
and you will find the traditional coco fibre, or coco latex, if the basket is less than 40cm in diameter.
It is rare to find larger sized hanging baskets at the local outlets.
Larger sized baskets means the baskets have been handmade from heavier duty materials by local artisans and it is equally difficult to find liners to fit.
Most outlets stock liners to fit up to 40cm diameter hanging baskets but not bigger.
and then there is the type of liner,
Comparison available hanging basket liners…
available hanging basket liners, coco fiber, also called coir, coco-latex fibre, molded coco-latex fibre, from your local supplier, and Eco Aus Liners (EAL) available online.
Coco and Coco-latex, molded liners will last approximately 12-18 months, and need to be re-potted.
Eco Aus Liners will last up to 10 years before needing to be re-potted.
Eco Aus Liners
Eco Aus Liners are light-weight, flexible, porous and long lasting.
Made from recycled plastic soft drink bottles, the long, thin, green or brown spun fibres interlocked into black mesh, can be adapted to suit almost any shape or sized basket or container. The EAL liner is soft, strong, easy to work with and can be cut with scissors to trim or shape if necessary.
When considering replacing the liners in your hanging baskets,
a good way to check the size of your basket, to make sure the sizes will fit well,
is to measure underneath around the outside of your basket
as if you were taking a slice through the centre,
From the top on one side to the opposite point on the other side.
Eco Aus Liners
Eco Aus Liners are cut here in our workshop
To fit the hanging baskets, also made here on site, and available in kits.
The liners and hanging baskets range from 25cm to
a whopping 75cm in diameter with a matching liner.
EAL liners are cut to match the flattened basket plus 5cm all round to fit well.
So if your basket measures 80cm from one side to the other, use the table below to find the best fitting liner for your hanging baskets.
Compare the outside basket diameter of your basket in the table below, and to order use the Basket Diameter size, as the liners are listed according to the basket diameter.
Basket Diameter
Outside basket
diameter
Liner Diameter
To order Liners
Use Basket diameter
Check your baskets size
The liner actual size
25cm
50cm
50cm
30cm
55cm
55cm
35cm-40cm
70cm
70cm
50cm
80cm
85cm
60cm
90cm
100cm
75cm
115cm
115cm
Some tips
If the liner is undersized for your basket, it will still work, but the top edge of the liner will drop below the top edge of the basket, therefore there will be less potting mix in the basket and the basket will be slightly lighter weight wise.
If the liner is oversized, the liner can, with care for your hands, be trimmed with scissors to suit
Or it can be folded into the basket and held in place with potting mix till the plant contents need to be moved to a larger basket, then the whole contents – plant, potting mix and liner can be lifted into the larger basket, add more potting mix, reshuffle everything so it’s all snug,
These liners are porous, so the water will run straight through,
If you want the baskets to remain wet for longer,
Consider first
Adding perlite and or vermiculite to the potting mix, for lighter baskets
Some find adding river sand helps, makes a heavier basket
Also peat moss helps.
Then of course, some enthusiasts like to line between the liner and the potting mix with wet newspaper. Being wet the newspaper molds to shape well, and when it is dry it acts as a barrier to the moisture.
Or some put saucers of small containers between the liner and the potting mix
Others just line between the liner and the potting mix with plastic shopping bag,
Depending how far this comes up the sides, you may need to make a few very small holes so the moisture doesn’t stagnate.
Chillies in hanging baskets
Strawberries and chives
Thank you for reading this guide
I hope this has been helpful and happy hanging basket-ing.
