How to Plant a Hanging Basket, Pt 2. (Shade)

(For Part 1, please go here. We are re-capping a fun gardening class, in parts. Come and learn how to plant a beautiful hanging basket!)

The shade basket came together just like the sun basket – something tall in the center…



…and some fluffier stuff around it.


Melissa used impatiens, and warned us NOT to mess with the roots too much. With some plants, you can fan them out to encourage them to grow. Impatiens are NOT like that, and have a rather delicate constitution. Just pop them out of their nursery pots, and carefully into the dirt.



Heike explains to us the best way to trap a slug. (Find yourself a disposable plastic water bottle and knock holes in two sides, large enough for a slug to climb through. Tie a string to a pencil, and then stick it through the holes. Put some beer in the bottom of the bottle, and then stick your pencil through the holes so that the string hangs down to the beer. Cap it, and bury the bottle in your garden up to the holes. The trickiest part is keeping your cookies down while disposing of your bottle full of…well, drunk slugs.)

Any lovely shade-loving flowers or greens will work in a shade basket. Look for small things that might go un-noticed on the ground or in a garden bed. Your local nursery will be able to direct you to the plants you want.



And it’s done! Stay tuned – our final basket is up next. Herb basket!