How Do You Plant A Hanging Wire Basket?
A hanging basket brimming with herbs, annual flowers, and even vegetables like tiny, trailing Curran tomatoes, gives you added planting space and dresses up a porch, balcony or deck. There are many kinds of hanging containers, but the moss-filled wire basket is a classic. Choose plants that are young and vigorous, and consider both growing habit (trailing or upright) and mature size. If the plant grows upright, as in the case of basil, it should grow to no more than 1 1/2 times the height of the container or the arrangement will look ungainly and top-heavy. Use only a single type of plant if the bloom is profuse, as with impatiens, or the form dramatic, as with ivy-leaved geraniums. Buy a wire planting basket at a nursery or through a catalog (16 inches in diameter is the standard size). Line the basket with a 2- to 3-inch layer of sphagnum moss, which is also available at almost any place that sells garden plants. Fill the basket with lightweight potting soil and a handful of compost
