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Hello, lovely isn't it?
Fuchsias, trailing geraniums, libelia make up this lovely colourful summer basket, and
in the autumn you can put in crocus, ivy, pansies to give colour right through the year.
Really having a go, well in the next 60 minutes or so we'll be showing you some of the secrets,
window boxes, hanging baskets and tubs.
Provided you follow a few simple rules, it's amazingly easy to get some very good results.
This is Arlington Nursery near Fair Oak in Hampshire.
It's a family business run by Angie and Steve Goodrich.
Steve carried on from his father and grandfather before him, and now more than a million plants
are grown by Steve for sale each year.
He also makes up more than 2,000 hanging baskets for Eastleigh Council, so what better place
to come and learn the tricks of the trade.
Steve, when it comes to choosing plants for hanging baskets, there's a wide choice these
days isn't there?
There's a very wide choice of hanging baskets now, you've got something besides your fuchsias
and your geraniums now, approximately about 38 other varieties now that you can actually
use.
Yeah, I mean the verbena here for one thing.
You've got your verbenas, which come in five or six different colours, your helichrytums,
you've got your yellow, your silver, your variegated, plectranthus, good old busy lizies,
and the good old busy lizies of course, they never change at all.
Form a great ball of flower, can't they?
That's right, yes they do.
What would you say are the points to look out for really when you're choosing plants
for hanging baskets, to get good specimens?
I suppose first of all, come to a good nursery like this.
Obviously, if you start with good plants, obviously then you start off actually on the
right foot.
Plants that aren't too small, they're nice, bushy, obviously the nice colour green, not
yellow where they've dried out in the past.
They don't want these straggly specimens.
That's right, that's the last thing you want is the straggly specimens, you'll never get
a nice result at the end of the day.
Well you've got some good sound ones in there.
Yes, you've got your petunias, your plectranthus, which some people might not know, as you say
your good old fuchsias, your upright draniums and of course your ivy dranium.
And that'll trail over the side of course.
That will trail down over the side.
We make our baskets in a cross effect.
Then you can plant your busy lizies, your verbenas and your other bits and pieces in
the side and of course your lovelia, which you mustn't forget, which some people do.
Ah yes, yes.
Do you like a light blue or a dark blue?
I personally like the lighter colours.
Shows up better at a distance.
Shows up better at a distance and of course with summer, sunshine, the lighter colours
makes you feel better at the time of the year.
Oh marvellous.
Well I must pick up a few plants for Helen.
Okay.
Now I'll have a couple of busy lizies, a nice white one, a helichrysum with its lovely yellow
foliage, another busy lizie and a couple of verbena.
So don't forget Steve's advice, look for healthy plants which are bushy and a good green colour.
I'm going to show you how to do a traditional hanging basket using either fuchsias, geraniums,
lovelia, hanging geraniums, everything helichrysum.
So the first and most important thing to do when you've chosen your basket and this is
a 12 inch wire basket, fit it firmly on a pot, must be nice and firm, very important.
Then start with your moss.
Now this has to be really damp.
If it's not, give it a good watering with your watering can.
It certainly won't sit in your basket properly if it's dry.
Try and gather moss the day that you're actually going to use it and don't forget green side
down.
So once you've got some moss in here, it's a jolly good idea to put an old saucer in
because that really keeps everything very firm and you can leave the saucer in if you
want to because it does prevent soil going through the bottom.
So tuck it in really tight, this is so important.
There we go.
If you're going to do it properly, it does actually take quite a long time.
You want to cover up all those green wires.
This is actually quite a small basket for a traditional, but you can of course use something
very much larger.
And afterwards when you've got all the moss in and you think it looks a bit ragged, you
take your scissors and give it a jolly good trim.
I always think it's fun to be able to go out and gather your own moss, but it soon goes
brown if you don't use it immediately, and that does rather spoil the effect.
There we are, we're nearly there, press it down nice and hard, you're bound to get a
bit coming out at the sides.
Now you have to moss right to the top, that's fine, we'll trim it up in a minute.
There's the saucer, you can either leave it or take it out, in this case I'm going to
leave it.
Now another very important thing is to line the basket again, you'll be surprised how
important this is, especially when you have these long, dry, hot summers.
But don't forget, pierce the polythene so you get extra drainage.
There we are, and if, then that again can be trimmed up afterwards.
If you're really worried about watering, then do use a foam liner as well, that's fantastic
for holding the water.
Now the compost, this is slightly dry, I would think it's too dry, so give it a jolly good
watering when you've got it in the basket.
Now the compost, you don't take it right to the top, get it in nice and firmly, about
two inches in fact, and of course when you've watered it it will go down even further.
Now I think it's time to trim, you certainly don't want to see bits of black plastic all
over the place.
Then of course, the most exciting bit, choice of plants, I'm going to use a standard geranium
for the centre, there we are, and that's how it should look.
Pretty red geranium, everybody's favourite, pop it in there, and then I'm going to have
a look and see where I'm going to put my labelia.
Now there's masses to choose from nowadays, you can have the upright labelia, or you can
have the trailing labelia, and this is the sapphire, which is a trailing one.
Now you'll have to make that into a tight ball to get it through the moss, and hopefully
through a slit there in the polythene, there we are.
Now if you do this all the way around, it's quite difficult actually, don't forget you
can stab a hole if you haven't actually got a slit in the polythene at a particular place
that you want to put them in.
Make sure too, these are nice and damp, because again, soil will fall out, these scissors
are very useful.
There, you can carry on doing that all the way around, and then I would suggest you use
some more geraniums, the trailing varieties, and you have to put those along the edge at
an angle so that they do fall right over.
Of course there are other plants to use besides geraniums, fuchsia is also very popular, you
need stacks and stacks of water though in a very hot summer, certainly geraniums are
more tolerant of the weather.
Don't be afraid to take a bit of soil off, there we are.
Now one of my favourites is Helichrysum, and I think that looks gorgeous with the red geranium,
so maybe a few of these, again they are too big to go in the side of the basket, nice
and damp.
Don't be afraid to put plants at an angle, you don't want to overfill it, but you certainly
want to give a good display.
And then you can finish up by actually just finishing off the labelia.
All these plants are at a perfect stage for your hanging basket.
Now that needs a really, really good watering, and then sit it in your greenhouse if you
are lucky enough to have one, just to get it settled, and they can go out as soon as
there are no more frosts.
And this is the final job Harry.
It doesn't need it, and then I shall hang it in the greenhouse for a week or so to really
get it established.
This watering really is the biggest bugbear of baskets, isn't it?
Absolutely.
I've got something to show you over here.
Okay.
Now we've got all these baskets here of different kinds, but here's one you only need water
once a week, would you believe?
That's a wonderful idea, isn't it, especially if you're working all day, take this off.
That's right, you see there's this floor here with capillary matting on it, and a little
tongue underneath that dips down, and in the reservoir at the bottom you can get four pints
of water.
So when you're watering it Harry, how do you know you're not flooding the whole basket?
Ah, well that's the clever thing.
Round here there are three holes, right, and once you get to that level the water comes
out.
So once you see the water coming out through the holes, you know it's filled up.
What a good idea.
And of course you can feed at the same time.
Exactly.
Great.
And of course these hold water very well too, don't they?
They're excellent for herbs, aren't they?
Very good indeed, and you can keep them nicely trimmed too, easy to get at.
Still a place for the good old galvanised wire basket.
Still my favourite, but probably not the easiest to use.
No, when it comes to pushing things through the side, I like this one because it's plastic.
I think that's such a simple idea, but brilliant.
Of course there are some liners about these days, aren't there, all sorts.
Well this one, coconut, must retain the water well I would imagine, just like a coconut
matting, it's rather good, isn't it?
Very simple to use.
It's like a doormat.
How does she got that?
Well this actually does come with one of the hanging baskets all ready to use.
Ah, I've used this for green house shading, but never thought of using it for lining.
It's nice and easy to chop and cut too, and the same with a foam liner actually.
You can cut it, and of course you've got these wonderful slits in it to push your plants
through.
They don't look very pretty to start with, but once I've lined it up.
You don't see them, and of course they do hold the water well again.
Better than a plain black polythene.
And of course this comes complete, and that's a plastic liner.
And then of course you've got the peat liners, of course again holding the water well.
I like these legs on the bottom, stop it rolling about when you're doing it.
Lots of good ideas in hanging baskets now.
Coming on all the time.
But whatever sort of basket or liner you use, it must be well supported, mustn't it?
You must have a decent sized bracket for a very big basket, because they're very weighty.
Good sturdy ones like these.
That would only take quite a small basket.
Well fixed into the wall too.
Oh yes.
Oh yes, if you've got a big basket.
That's the size.
How about that?
That's the size you've got to have for a 14 inch basket at least.
And I do know somebody who put one of these upside down ones.
For this basket I'm going to use a peat based compost.
It is packed full of nutrients to keep the plants happy throughout the summer.
And it does have a water retaining agent in the form of granules.
And now the basket.
This is plastic, has a built in saucer, little legs to stabilise it when you're planting
up.
And as Harry said, springy sides for ease of planting.
Now the net mesh, which is your liner, is placed in the basket.
You'll probably have to make a few folds and try and get it right to start with.
And then fill the basket with about a third of this compost.
That's just enough to plant the first few plants.
Now actually I'm going to take a bit of this netting off, because it could get in the way
of planting.
Very easy to cut.
And the final trim can be made when the basket is complete.
So much easier to be able to see what you're doing without this hanging over the edge.
There we are.
Now for planting.
The first thing is to make a diagonal cut in the side, just like that, there we are.
And your plants, these are hutonias and I'm going to do the whole basket with them, because
this will look really effective and cover all the mesh.
Push it in from the outside.
And now for the rest of the cutting, I think this will take about eight plants.
You do need plenty for effect.
Don't make the holes too big, because you don't want your compost slipping through.
It's a good strong plant, plenty of root, and that's going to get away very quickly.
There we are.
You can always make them bigger, but you cannot do anything about it if you cut them too large.
Maybe a little bit fiddly to start with, because this has got a lot of root on it.
Being a perennial, it's slightly more difficult than putting little annuals in.
There we are, there's the second one in.
So that's the first layer of planting finished, and the roots are sitting very comfortably
on that soil.
Now for the next layer, you do exactly the same, a couple of really good handfuls of
compost.
Press it down lightly so those roots below are nice and firm.
And now for the second layer, do place your plants in between the eight that are below
there, so therefore you would cut just about there.
Obviously, we're going to need more plants, because the basket is a lot wider.
Plenty of lovely root on it, and push it through just as before.
Actually, the further up the basket you go, the easier it all becomes.
There we are, as again, laying the roots, which are nicely formed, on top of the compost.
And the last plant going in.
Now it may look as though there are masses of plants, maybe too many, but not at all,
to get the all-round effect in a basket like this, which is large, you must use plenty.
And now for the final trim, your mesh liner.
Take it right back to the curve of the basket, careful not to cut the leaves, there we are.
And of course, as always, a really good watering before you hang it up.
Of course, there are many things you can use in a hanging basket nowadays, and one of my
particular favorites are strawberries.
And you must get them planted really early, February or March, and must make lots of growth.
And then you get flowers, and you get fruit, well the fruit on this one will be ready easily
in May, and I've also put lots of ivies in it, so when the strawberries are over, I take
those out, I leave the ivies in, and then I put my autumn and winter plants in, such
as pansies, polyanthas, hebes, heathers, and you really don't have to disturb the basket
at all.
Winter flowering pansies planted in a hanging basket in the autumn will flower throughout
the winter.
It will give a splash of color outside your kitchen window to brighten the dullest days.
Now maybe you've already grown your pansies from seed, but if you haven't, don't worry,
there are plenty about, and you don't necessarily have to buy them with flowers on.
Then we've got a 14 inch basket here, and you'll see it standing on a good wide plastic
pot.
There's a reason for that, because if you take it away and try and do it there, it rocks
all over the place, so either a bucket or a good stout pot like that, and then it's
lined with good damp moss, and in the middle I put a piece of black plastic, because there's
nothing worse later on when you go to water your hanging basket, and it goes straight
through the middle and it's just a waste of time.
And then on top of that, some good compost, good multi-purpose compost, you'll be filling
this up later as it goes along, but there's enough there to start with.
Then in can go the plants, one of my favorite jobs this is, but you start to see things
taking shape.
One there, another one worshiping about there I think, because these will grow, don't forget
that.
And one, two, three, one, two, three, another one in here, all right, so we go on all the
way around the pot.
Well, that's all the plants in, and now it's time for another layer of moss.
This wants to be put around really tight around the edge, and it's worth taking your time
with this, you know, don't rush it.
Firm down the moss well, and then it's time for another good portion of this fine multi-purpose
compost.
Lovely stuff this, isn't it, if you could eat it almost, then another layer of plants.
And if any of them, by the way, have got their roots a bit, you know, tied together, then
do take a bit of time just teasing them out a little bit, so when they're put down they
make a much better contact with the compost.
One in there, another nice one, tease out his roots a bit, the compost off the top there,
there's a bit of a neck to come through, don't we, after all, there we are, through you go,
get that down well into the compost.
And you notice I'm fitting the top layer so they're in between the ones underneath.
That's coming on very well now, just a few more bits to ease in around the top, and these
want to be nicely rounded, and it does help to keep the water in.
Another one there, last bit in there, just clean these off with a pair of scissors afterwards.
There we are, now it's time for a bit more compost.
I don't want to overdo the compost because there are plants going in here and they take
up a bit more room as well, remember.
And now we plant up the top layer, it's rested on the rim, but do make sure the roots come
down into the compost, then your next one, same applies, that's really coming together
well now, isn't it.
One in about there, and so we go on.
Well, once the top rim's done, just a little bit of compost needed in there, doesn't want
to be too far up, an inch below the edge, and then we can start putting the top ones
in, resting it on the surface, yep, looking really good this is, look at that, now a little
bit more compost just to go around and fill up the gaps.
And that's about it, now I can't stress too much the importance of leaving that gap at
the top, so that when you water it doesn't run all over the side, and we'll be doing
that watering later on, but first of all, of course, this is a hanging basket, so you've
got to hang it up, and they're quite a weight these things, I didn't do it with a chain
on because they always get in the way, hook it on there, you all might have to change
it a bit later on, one there, and the third one over here somewhere, very very good, now
quite a weight this is, good strong bracket, there's a wasp up there, right he's gone,
of course the last thing is the watering, and then what I do is a couple of goes, have
a go then let it soak down a bit, then have another one, and the other thing is regular
deadheading as the season goes on, and that'll encourage more flowers, once the things start
setting seed, there won't be so many flowers. Now this is another rather smaller basket,
the same idea, pansies, and it's a plastic basket, perhaps easy to do in a way, it's
hanging here at the moment because there's a hook, but it'll go outside and stay there
right through the winter.
Here's a basket anyone would be proud of, with a little tender loving care every day
it'll stay in tip-top condition for months, there's no magic formula, feed and water regularly
and remove all the dead flowers and leaves as soon as they pass their prime, and this
colourful display will continue to bloom all through the growing season.
hanging baskets or pots are herbs, this one has a rosemary, looks very good
because of the height, a fever few, and nasturtiums which you use the flowers for garnishing your
salads, and finally a very pretty silver thyme which is in flower. I always like to have
a herb basket hanging outside of the kitchen door or window or somewhere close anywhere
where I can just grab a bit when I want it, so this is an ideal basket because of these
pockets here and you can plant it from the inside which is the correct way. So a few
ideas, first your hanging basket compost in the bottom, and then I would have something
that spreads nicely, a thyme maybe, this is a silver thyme, and this will come out quite
undamaged through the pocket and that will spread nicely, and don't forget when you're
doing herbs you're constantly chopping at them so that keeps them nice and compact.
Now I rather like marjoram, so a golden marjoram, I think this basket is going to be mainly
golden anyway, and again you do exactly the same thing. There we are, spread the roots
out so they've all got a jolly good chance, and then feverfew, also very pretty. Good
for headaches I believe, so maybe worth having one in the basket. And now I think we've got
one more pocket and I will go for savoury. You can have a winter savoury and a summer
savoury, and this is the winter variety. Summer savoury is so easy to raise some seed. There
we are, spread the roots out, and now all the pockets are filled so we fill almost to
the top with about an inch and a half with your compost, and I think we ought to have
some sage. There we are, and parsley without a doubt, and that's better sitting on the,
gosh that's a well rooted parsley, and we must have parsley, this is really well rooted,
just how it should be. Just tease some of those roots because they're really jammed
in there, and that will go in there. And if I use a peppermint, that doesn't become so
invasive as the ordinary mint, and it does keep the flies away, or so they say. And one
of my very favourites, the coriander. Really well rooted, and if you can buy plants like
that, it really gives them a good start in life. As I say, just tease out the roots a
bit. There, make sure they're all well and truly firmed in. A little bit more compost.
Smells delicious already. I can smell the coriander. But if you really want a cheap
basket which will give you a glorious display all through the year, nasturtiums, they're
wonderful, also sweet peas. And now of course, the final watering for our herb basket, a
really good watering, and then that will hang straight outside the kitchen door, and it
doesn't mind lots of sun, and it won't worry quite so much about getting dry. Well hanging
baskets are one way of brightening up the scene outside, but another way is to use window
boxes, and they're becoming very popular these days. You may be lucky enough to have a stock
size one. And you know, there is a range in terracotta, plastic, stone. If you have one
of those, you really do need strong fixings. And check your window frame, make sure that
will take the strengthening as well. Or if you like, you can make your own from good
old tree wood. If you're crafty, you can make a jolly good window box from a standard plank
like this. It's about 2.7 meters long, about nine feet. Now you mark out your front, your
back, the base of it, the two ends, and with any luck you'll find you've got a bit left
over down here. Don't throw it away, you'll need that for the feet and any brackets and
so on. So it's jolly useful. Then once you've cut it up, you put the bits together. But
before you do that, do give it a coat of a jolly good wood preservative. We've used a
wood stain one here, or we could use a clear one and paint it. But whatever you use, do
make sure it will not harm the plants when it's dry. Now we've made it this size just
to take this standard 24 inch plastic insert. Because there's nothing worse than having
to take all the plants out and replant in one window box. It can be back breaking our
work. But with this, once one's done as you'll see, we can change it later on. Now the front
here goes on, but you see it leaves a gap. Now that's not my bad measurement, that's
done for a purpose. You can make holes in the bottom of course, but that's a boring
old business. I like this slot here because it lets the rain run over any water that comes
out. It comes out through here, it doesn't go down the wall, it goes over the edge of
your windowsill if you've got one. So put the front on. Now if you've got a sloping
windowsill it's no bad idea to have a couple of wedges like this. Then you can put them
on the windowsill and that'll make up for the slope so it stays good and level. If you
haven't got a windowsill what do you do then? Well, you fix brackets to the wall of course.
You can use shelf brackets like this. If you do, they do really need to be very firmly
fixed. And I think perhaps a little more decorative, especially if you haven't got a windowsill
or much sticking out. One there alright, but these wrought iron ones are better. It gives
quite a bit of clearance at the back. But whatever sort of brackets you use or whether
you've just rested on the windowsill, you must fix the window box firmly to the wall.
Because if it falls down and falls on somebody's head, you've had it. So, good stout screw
eyes, another one in the window frame and some good tough wire between them and make
sure it's really well fixed. Because after all, if you use these inserts you don't need
to be taking them backwards and forwards very much, do you? It stays put. That looks splendid
Harry. Oh it'll look even better in a minute my bird. You've been busy there. Been lovely.
Well done in yellows. I thought that's most effective. I do like self-colours in window
boxes and hanging baskets. You've got a variety here too haven't you? I started with a basket
fuchsia. Oh to trail over the side. Most attractive. Then the Swedish ivy that spreads and also
goes over. And the ordinary ivy, a pot of that is really good value because you get
so many little plants for a pound or two. And then a creeping jenny, something you don't
really expect to see in a window box. No, but it's creeping over the side now. Very effective.
And the little bedding begonia again with the white flowers, that's very nice. And ending
up with a castle area. They're becoming very popular. Great balloon shaped flowers later
on, they'll be marvellous. That's right, it's going to be glorious. Great. Of course if
you're not into DIY, how about these Rolls Royce of the window box, made in Harwood by
Trevy Smith, an old family firm up in the black country. Again made to take these inserts
you see, so you've got a constant change of flowers as the seasons go by. And drainage
this time because it's got an insert, just these slats in the bottom. And what's more
you get good sturdy brackets you can put together. Don't hold anything, certainly hold this.
If you'd like a permanent display in your window box, then buy pots like this and just
plunge them. Now you can put some gravel in the bottom or a bit of rough compost but don't
forget the drainage holes even though they're in pots. And place them in. And then if you
want to remove them, if they die or they get too big, it's so much more simple. This is
Elwood's gold but there are masses of cupresses to choose from and hebes, this actually is
a dwarf one. And then the ever useful ivies, they're lost all through the winter as well.
And heathers, there are many to choose from but this is one of my favourites, that's Jack
Brumwich, looks good all the year round but particularly in the winter.
Many people are quite happy to garden on their patios or maybe a balcony or just a patch
outside the back door. But what sort of pot would you recommend Steve for this purpose?
Well you have this new terracotta pot now which is becoming very popular. The only disadvantage
is it's a little bit on the heavy side. Frost proof? To a certain extent. It's not an ideal
pot to leave out all winter. If you've got a slightly protected area, conservatory, best
to bring it in for the winter. But this certainly is frost proof. This is the new one now that's
obviously just arrived onto the market. Very light weight, a little bit more expensive
but very very good value for money. Not forgetting of course holes to be drilled into the bottom
and of course the upturn crocks 2-3 inches deep in both of them. Yes even though it looks
like clay, it doesn't act like clay does it? No it doesn't. And you'd soon get your plants
waterlogged but there's a massive range, wall pots from an even tinier space. They're very
attractive aren't they? You can make your walls look very very nice, your fuchsias,
your ivydraniums, labelias etc. A wall can make them look very very attractive. Yes I
think they're wonderful and of course when you go to the top of the range you've got
the strawberry pot there but it doesn't necessarily have to have strawberries growing in it. It
can look very very effective with fuchsias, draniums, busy lizies once again. As you say
a bit more expensive but it looks very very nice. It's very classy. But what's your most
popular selling container? The one we sell mostly is the modern day white plastic or
whatever you'd like to call it. Once again of course it must be drilled with holes. Once
again as you say though it's cheap and it's very effective. But do choose trailing plants
to break up that hard white. Yes yes once you've lost the whiteness it can look very
very effective or for the people with a very limited budget you've got the new compressed
pea. Well that's very good because not only could you grow flowers in that but you could
have a mini vegetable garden. Yes as you say you know lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers. A few
radish spring onions. The list is endless isn't it? Once as you say it's cheap, it's
economical in everyone's pocket range. Pansies look great in containers too. Give your colour
right through the winter. Now you might think that's a terracotta one there but it isn't.
There it is, very light, made of plastic. A lot cheaper, maybe not last as long but well
worth it. And how about this? You might look at that and think that's made of cast iron
and be worth a pound or two but they're really quite cheap and again you can see it's quite
light plastic. Just imagine these primulas in here and some miniature narcissi look really
great in the spring, marvellous. Richford pottery specialises in the production of top quality
terracotta pots by traditional methods. The pots are formed by throwing or hand mouldings,
decorated, fettled, turned and dried prior to firing in the kilns. The largest pots take
up to six weeks to come through the whole process. These handmade pots in a variety
of designs mellow beautifully with age and carry a guarantee against frost damage. Here
are some imaginative and unusual plant combinations in a selection of Richford pots.
The only problem with a nursery like this one is that you're spoilt for choice. Oh there's
a nice one, strong and healthy but not too big, just the job. There Helen, how's that?
I do love Japanese assailants and that's a beautiful colour and it's got to match beautifully
with the pots there. Which one? Oh I don't know, they're so subtle aren't they in design?
Aren't they lovely, yes. Very subtle. You want to get one of those for a fiver? No they're
top of the range but they're quite beautiful aren't they? Gorgeous yeah. But I guess you'd
have to take them in during the winter. I take them in every night. They must be expensive
then. But you know they don't have to be expensive are they these patio pots? Oh no certainly
not, you've got this here. Oh if you've got a big display, yes. It looks pretty authentic
too doesn't it and you've got a lot of stuff in there. Almost have a bath in it. And then
again it's plastic I know. It doesn't look it, that's the great thing. No it's choice
of plants that's so important. There's another. This is made by the same people who made those
lovely window boxes you know. Yes it's very attractive. What I like about it is this water
indicator here, you see a little filler, this is the lid, pour the water down until when
it's full. It comes complete with a supply of oil to keep the teak in good nick. This
sort of thing will never spoil and last you for years. That's it. But of course. This
will last you for years. And great for putting geraniums in things like that. Oh yes all
sorts of cascading plants. I think they're most attractive. Yeah and you almost fill
it with water you know and use it for the plants. Dual purpose. That's it.
I'm just finishing a pot off that will happily stand outside for the whole of the winter.
Now this is a plastic pot and do make sure it is well cropped because they do waterlog
very easily. But they certainly won't crack if you've got a hard winter. So the last of
the ivies, pretty trailing ivies and a dwarf conifer and multi-purpose compost and you
won't need to feed it at all until at least next spring. And if you do want a splash of
colour, a few crocus bulbs, muscari, do keep them dwarf though. And finally I'm going to
plant up one of my favourites, this wooden tub. Now the most important thing about planting
up a tub for the winter is to make sure it has really good drainage. So first of all
some crocks and place this one over the main drainage hole concavely and then finish filling
it with all the other bits of crock. And you can never put too much crock in because plants
I'm going to put in are all acid loving and love really good drainage. There are always
plenty of broken pots around most people's gardens. There we are and that's ready for
planting. Now you must use an ericaceous compost. This is so important because I'm going to
use a miniature rhododendron and I'm going to put some heathers around it too. And of
course you can use camellias and there are many, many other things that you can't grow
in lots of gardens. So here we are, this is the miniature rhododendron going in. I've
got to get the height right. There's a little more compost. Make sure your plant is damp
before you put it in. Give it a good soaking. It's amazing how much compost these plants
really need. And again, if you want a really good splash of colour in the spring there's
so many bulbs that you can choose. But don't forget, do keep them dwarf. You don't want
to hide this lovely plant. Right, there's the rhododendron sitting quite happily. There's
a massive choice of heathers in the garden centres nowadays. And so I'm just going to
put a pretty mixture in. Some will flower in the winter, some in the spring because
these rhododendrons do have quite a long life of blooms. Lovely foliage here to contrast.
I think five will be ideal. I hate to see tubs with very little in and there's plenty
of compost to keep them going. Now fill up and this is ready to sit on your patio for
a bright splash of colour in the winter. The final level of the compost should be about
an inch to an inch and a half below the rim and this applies to any container so that
makes it easy for watering and feeding. And as with all pots, hanging baskets, any time
of container, they do need a thorough but gentle watering so you don't disturb the
soil too much. And to help you, we've compiled a list of all the plants we've used in our
hanging baskets, pots and containers plus many, many more suggestions and you will find
that inside the video sleeve. Bye for now. From early September you know, the shops and
stores and garden centres and nurseries are full of a wonderfully appetising collection
of bulbs. You can put them in the ground of course and a lot of us do. But what about
other containers? Clay containers like this, window boxes, or how about a hanging basket?
Now this is one we made up earlier. It's got three primroses in at the moment, some ivy
to go over the side and it's nicely packed with moss, with the compost in the middle
and we're going to put some daffodil bulbs in first of all. Pressing them down nicely.
Tips will just be on or below the surface and now for a bit of compost. Not a lot, just
enough to get the tips just about covered. Should do very nicely. Take it off the leaves
as we go along. And in the top there, I'm going to put some of these crocuses. Imagine
how they'll look when they come up later on. Really brilliant. Press them in there. You've
got to remember with all these bulbs, it's point side upwards, otherwise they do take
just that little bit longer. Let's do the last of them round there. Point it side up
again. And that'll look really treat when they come up. There's a little more compost
on the top. Get off the leaves of course, nicely even. When that's had a watering that'll
be ready. Now how about a container like this? Nice terracotta container, guaranteed against
frost damage. And these are forget me knots here. We're going to put some of these tulips
in. Nice bulbs these are. Again, reasonably deep. The last three in. And all we need here
is a nice bit of watering and they'll be away. And don't forget all those lovely spring flowering
plants you can get as well, like the polyanthas, the orbrisha, the bellis in their pink and
white shades. And in the front there, the lovely little viola. Quite hardy. That's blue
princess that one. Looks a real picture doesn't it? So don't use your baskets and containers
just in the summer time only. Use them in the spring and winter as well. There are many
more plants than the ones I've shown you here. So have a go and really get some color right
through the... Well that's it. Hope you've enjoyed it as much as we've enjoyed showing
you. Have fun. Baba.
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