Outdoor hanging baskets and container planters are a great way to add instant colour to any part of of yard, or patio. They become available in May but if you are a 'do it your selfer' and enjoy making up your own hanging baskets and containers the basket stuffers are now available in the garden centres. Basket stuffers are the plants that are used to put into the containers. There are many different kinds of plants that are suitable for outdoor containers starting with the very popular 'supertunias' a petunia hybrid. These have single or double flowers that come in a wide range of size, colour, and style with some varieties being fragrant.. A nice feature about the supertunias is that they are self cleaning which means that the old finished flowers do not need to be removed. The plants are fast growing and will bloom throughout the summer when given the proper care. They enjoy full sun, and should be kept moderate to moist and fertilized weekly with a flowering plant fertilizer such as 12-36-12. These are the flowers that are used in the flowering baskets that are hung along the city streets. A nice plant to mix in with the supertunias is the 'superbena' . These are verbena hybrids and the plants produce large cluster of flowers that will bloom throughout the summer and attract butterflies and humming birds. There are different varieties that come in different colours to mix and match. It is another low maintenance plant as the old flowers do not need to be removed, and the plants are heat tolerant. Other verbena hybrids that grow well in containers are the 'Babylon', 'Tukana', and 'Tapien' varieties. 'Superbells' are calibrachoa hybrids and the flowers are similar to petunias except smaller. The flowers come in a wide range of colours and some varieties have flowers with more then one colour. There are lots of varieties to choose from and these can be mixed in with other plants or planted on their own. They enjoy full sun and need to be kept moderately moist. It is another low maintenance plant as the old flowers do not need to be removed.
Fillers is a term used for plants that are used to finish off a container when you are making a mixed planter. Plants such as the yellow flowered 'Bidens' or the white blooming 'Bacopa' or 'Diamond Frost' along with the very scented 'Snow Princess' all make nice fillers. If you are looking for more colour 'Lobelia' comes in various shades of white, blue and lavender or 'Lantana' comes in several colours and can be used as a filler or on its own. Fillers can also be plants used for their foliage. 'Ipomoea batatas' is a beautiful foliage plant with different shaped and sized leaves that come in various shades of green, bronze and purple.
For many gardeners a container is not complete unless it has a geranium in it. Geraniums can be upright or trailing and come in many different colours. They are beautiful when mixed in with other plants as they add some height to a container.
This is a good time to get started on your outdoor containers but you must leave them indoors as the weather is not warm enough yet to place them outside. A heated greenhouse would be ideal. If you have an empty container left over from last year that you want to fill or if you just want to start fresh with a new container, why not check out the selection of basket stuffers that are now available!
