I've always had a thing for lush hanging baskets, probably as a result of a trip to Victoria, British Columbia when I was a child. Remembering those lavish hanging baskets has inspired me to experiment with my own hanging baskets as an adult, bringing that vivid memory to life. I had the good fortune to meet April Yarter last year when she gave a presentation on how to make hanging baskets. I had always admired the hanging baskets that line the streets of downtown Camas, and I learned that April was the creator of those glorious baskets.

In order for you to create your own basket, you need to prepare it. April recommends starting with a large basket. Eighteen inches across is ideal because it will retain moisture better than a smaller basket. You can use a smaller basket, but you must be more vigilant about watering. You will also need some kind of fabric to use as a liner. Burlap works well, but you could go with any patterned, striped or checked fabric. Lay the fabric in the basket, pattern side out, working it down into all the corners, then gather it tight around the upper rim of the basket so it wraps over the edge of the rim, and finally wrap it tightly several times around one of the metal sides of the basket, and tie it off to secure the fabric.

Next, line the fabric with either a piece of clear plastic for a sunny basket or black plastic for a shady basket. It should be large enough to go down into all the corners of the basket. To create a neat edge at the rim, tuck the top of the plastic down into the burlap. Contrary to what many believe, the key to a successful hanging basket is to not poke any holes in the plastic. You want to capture and retain as much water as possible in the basket once the plants are placed in position. Lest you think the plant's roots will be waterlogged, not so. Baskets with holes in the liner simply dry out and retain no water for the roots to use. Because the plastic will keep the fabric dry, you'll also be able to reuse the same fabric for several years.

Now you can fill the basket with potting soil. Be sure to push the soil down into all the corners of the basket. April says you can use any kind because the plants will receive nutrients from the soil only for the first ten to twelve times it gets watered. After that, the soil is depleted of nutrients and it is up to you to provide fertilizer for the plants to survive. When the basket is almost full, make a well, so that there is a depression in the center of the basket and a rim of soil around the entire edge of the basket. The rim helps keep the soil in the basket when you water the completed basket.

My favorite part is filling the pot with favorite plants. There are three basic types of plants that go into a hanging basket: center plants, trailing base plants, and filler plants. The base and filler plants are placed so the rootball and plant are sideways, or on a horizontal plane, while the center plant is planted upright, or vertically, in the basket. This configuration ensures a well-filled basket.

Plant choices depend on the light available and plants you like. For full sun, six or more hours per day, April suggests using creeping myrtle, vinca, trailing pelargonium, trailing petunia, sweet potato vine, or trailing nasturtiums as base plants. Good sun-loving fillers include verbena, pansies, bidens or marigolds. Some spectacular center plants that can take the heat are pelargonium, Gazania daisies, coral bells, mini rose or cranesbill. You can have luck planting something that is classified as a shade plant, such as coleus, in full sun as long as the rootball is shaded by neighboring plants and you water and feed it regularly. In part shade, less than six hours of sun, try creeping myrtle, creeping jenny, lamium or dead nettle, vinca, ivy, trailing nasturtiums, trailing pelargonium or sweet potato vine as base plants, with verbena, impatiens, pansies, bidens and marigold as fillers. The center plant can be pelargonium, Gazania daisies, coral bells, mini rose, coleus, fern, hosta, or cranesbill. Even if you have full shade, there are plants suitable for a lack of sunlight. Try creeping myrtle, creeping jenny, lamium, vinca, ivy or trailing fuchsia as base plants. Fillers could include impatiens, pansies, or Euphorbia marginata (snow on the mountain--considered poisonous), and in the center use hosta, coleus, fern or upright fuchsia. The color scheme you select might complement or contrast with your home's exterior, or it might work in harmony with your outdoor furniture or any particular colors you enjoy.

There are a couple of rules for planting success: Plant the base and fillers first, and finally the center. Plants can be placed with rootballs touching each other. Because they are not receiving nutrients from the soil but rather from the fertilizer you provide them, they can be planted very closely. All base and filler plants are planted sideways, and the center plant is planted in an upright position. April reports that an eighteen inch basket will take thirteen plants to fill. Here is one example for a sunny location: For the base, place three equally spaced creeping myrtle plants, with rootballs sideways, into the well in the potting soil. Then push two seeds of trailing nasturtiums around each myrtle. After that, plant three trailing petunias to the side of the myrtle. Next, place three sweet potato vines next to the petunias. Now add in fillers: plant three verbena, equally spaced, next to the sweet potato vines. As you work, you'll be filling in the central well in the soil with rootballs, so leave a bit of room for the center plant. Continue adding filler and trailing plants until the well in the soil is full of root balls, leaving room for the center plant. Finally, plant a trailing pelargonium and more nasturtium seeds in the center. If your basket is quite large, you can fill in the top with additional petunias as needed. Add a little bit more potting soil to fill in any holes, and you're done. Hang it up, and water it with a water wand, a hose attachment with a large rose that allows water to come out in a fine mist, or carefully use a water can or a garden hose nozzle set so it provides a light spray, so you don't dislodge your newly planted plants.

It may look a little sparse to begin, but never fear: in a few short weeks you will have a floral masterpiece to enjoy that you created yourself. There are two cardinal rules for maintaining your basket: water it every day, and fertilize it once a week with a water-soluble fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro. Here in Clark County, it's best to water the basket at night, which helps the soil to retain moisture and helps prevent leaf sun scald. It's always a good idea to make sure the basket soil is moist before you fertilize it, so you don't burn the roots of the plants. You should fertilize for the first time once the plants start to grow over the side of the basket, and continue once a week thereafter. To keep the plants blooming all summer, pinch off, or deadhead, the dead flowers so that the plant will continue to produce new flower buds. For a lower maintenance basket, choose to feature spectacular foliage such as hostas, ivy or coleus, which require little to no deadheading.

I have hung baskets on heavy metal brackets attached to the posts on either side of a double wooden gate which separates our back yard from the neighbors, so that there would be flowers at eye level. You might use the metal shepherd's hook-style of basket supports to place baskets out in the middle of one of your flower beds, to draw the eye from the ground up to the baskets. You can also place a sturdy hook into the woodwork, and then hang a basket from your porch or pergola to create a private, intimate enclosure. If you're building this summer, a newly installed wall or fence can be dressed up with a basket. Even the tiniest of apartment balconies has room for a basket or two. For ease of maintenance, hang the basket somewhere that you can easily water and deadhead the plants.

Hanging baskets are the epitome of summer, and happy memories can be yours if you create your own basket to hang in a place of prominence this year.

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