Perennial Hanging Baskets

Use a variety of perennials to create a hanging basket that you can use from year to year. Last year I used Lamb’s ears, Lantana, Johnny Jump-Ups and added an asparagus fern in the spring when I was ready to hang up my baskets for immediate impact.

Try to vary the flowers bloom time so that you can have instant color and then color all summer. You can add whatever annuals you like once you have the basic perennials established.

In the winter, I just put the baskets right in my flower garden so that they would be in their natural environment. In the spring, I just picked off the dead leaves, pulled out what soil I could, added new soil, planted a few annuals and hung them up. The Lamb’s ears were already nice, as well as the Johnny Jump-Ups.

By the end of the second season, you will probably need to remove some of the plants and plant elsewhere (maybe a perennial flower box). Make sure you fertilize as usual during the growing season. I found that because they were perennials, I did not have to water my baskets everyday because they were already adapted to dry conditions. I tried to choose ones that were basically drought tolerant.

Mother Natures Fountain of Youth

Perennials Introduction:

Perennial flowers can grow and bloom for several years. Some have shorter lives of only 3-4 years. In the fall these flowers die but the root system stays alive through the winter. In the spring you are rewarded because the flower grows new leaves from its roots and the cycle continues.

Advantage of Perennials - They do not have to be planted every year. Once you do the work of getting them established they will reward you for years.

Disadvantage of Perennials - Many perennials only flower for a few weeks each year. Imagine the heartache if you planted an entire garden with perennial flowers that all bloomed & died in that same 2 week period.

Planning Your Perennial Garden

Your goal should be to plant a variety of perennials that will bloom at different periods throughout the entire growing season. This will allow you to have a beautiful garden all the time.