After a long, cold and grey Edmonton winter, we could all use a little more colour in our lives. These first few weeks of spring bring just enough sunshine to start getting excited about the gardening season ahead. It is the perfect time of year to start bringing pops of colour into your outdoor space before the summer garden gets going. And with a little bit of acclimation and basic care, they can provide you with gorgeous colours all season long.  

Why We Love Hanging Baskets

Hanging baskets full of bright, beautiful blooms and greenery is one of the simplest, easiest ways to add instant, eye-level colour to any landscape or outdoor space. Regardless of how much space you have to work with, and whether you’re hunting for some bright, cheery yellows, deep purples, cherry reds or a pop of pink, hanging baskets are the perfect solution!  

Our Favourite Styles

Petunias  

You really can’t go wrong with petunias in a hanging basket. They come in just about every colour in the rainbow, and with a relatively minimal amount of effort, they will treat you to bountiful, colourful blooms all summer long.  

Supertunia petunias are vigorous growers with a slight mounding habit that act as perfect fillers and spillers in hanging baskets and containers. Their flowers are medium to large, have a super long blooming period, and are rather drought-tolerant in the midst of the summer heat. They’ll also attract pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard!  

Calibrachoa  

We are just smitten with the Aloha Kona Calibrachoa series for hanging baskets. More commonly known as Million Bells, Calibrachoa has seriously taken the garden industry by storm. This trailing plant hails from Mexico and South America, so it loves sunshine! Calibrachoa hanging baskets are ideal for bringing some colour to a south-facing front porch or any other space facing south, east or west. Just be sure to keep your Calibrachoas out of any strong winds as their branches are relatively delicate and can snap easily.

Begonias

If you’d like to decorate your home with impressively large hanging basket displays, trailing begonias are perfect for you! Whether single or double-flowered, begonias offer a massive display of bright, colourful blooms that cascade beautifully from hanging baskets, window boxes and containers. You can frame your front porch with baskets of billowy begonias or surround your patio in a few pops of bold colour.  

Non stop Appleblossom begonias will bring a soft, romantic feel to your outdoor space with light pink and white blooms, while Non stop Moca Red will bring more dramatic vibes to a space with their deep red blooms and mysteriously dark foliage.  

Tips & Tricks to Care for Your Hanging Baskets

Caring for hanging baskets is different from caring for plants in the garden. Here are some recommendations to make sure your basket is happy and healthy.  

Water Often: Hanging baskets (especially small ones) tend to dry out a lot quicker than plants in the ground! Just like when you have a houseplant in a small container, hanging baskets simply don’t have enough soil to hold a ton of water. A good rule of thumb is to water them once a day unless we have had a big rain recently.  

Rotate Your Hanging Baskets: If you notice that one or a few of your hanging baskets seem to thrive while others look a little sad, it may be due to the elements! Maybe they aren’t getting enough sunshine, too much sunshine, or being exposed to more wind than they prefer. By swapping them with their neighbour and turning them slightly about once a week or so, you’ll likely have much healthier plants!

Deadhead When Necessary: If you pinch off dead flowers from your hanging baskets, they will look much healthier and encourage more blooms in the process. However, not all flowers require deadheading, so be sure to check the tag or ask a knowledgeable staff member to find out if you need to deadhead it when you purchase your hanging basket. Calibrachoa, for example, does not need to be deadheaded, but petunias often do.  

There are so many gorgeous hanging baskets growing at our Salisbury Greenhouses in Sherwood Park and St. Albert! Reserve yours now before they’re gone!