© 2024 Rentokil Initial plc and subject to the conditions in the legal statement.
Variety is important when it comes to plants and flowers, and adding hanging baskets can be an excellent way to diversify the look of your business. However, questions can arise when dreaming your perfect basket arrangement. Which plants or flowers should I use? Where should I hang the basket? Which baskets look best?
Whether you are a novice or expert, it's important to have all of the information necessary when considering hanging baskets for your office environment. With the right living floral, greenery and plant design, your place of work can improve efficiency, creativity and reduce absenteeism. In fact, the benefits of plant life in an office has been well documented.
Ambius can help your place of business with some much needed plant life. Call 800-581-9946 or contact your local Ambius specialist today to talk about hanging basket options for your office building or business. Continue reading for answers to the most frequently asked questions surrounding hanging baskets.
Hanging baskets are plants placed in a structure that is suspended from chains, ropes or other materials. They are primarily decorative plants around homes and other structures. They allow homes with limited garden space to still have fresh-grown living plants and flowers. The baskets themselves are usually made of wire and filled with a substance like burlap or some other growing medium. Hanging baskets come in a wide variety of styles and examples, from store-bought baskets to homemade baskets such as upside down clay pots.
Instead of asking “Why have hanging baskets?” the question should be “Why not?!” Hanging baskets are a great way of creating a tidy, clean and professional looking outdoor area, whether it’s for your own back garden or the entrance of an office.
In 2009, designer Paul Williams wrote in The Telegraph that, “drama and lavish extravagance is what I love about hanging baskets, with their lush cascades of flowers.” He also states that they’re a great way to avoid run-of-the-mill garden designs as each basket will be different, depending on how you want to decorate it in relation to your garden.
There are a great deal of different hanging baskets available, including solid plastic ones with water reservoirs, woven wicker baskets for a more earthy, homemade feel and wire framed ones for a more modern touch.
But hanging baskets are a great place to get creative; if you choose to make the basket yourself, you could do anything from planting up a watering can, to hanging a few colanders up together containing small, flowering plants!
But whatever material you choose to use, the size of the basket is really important. A basket that’s too small for your plants will need regular watering and pruning. The bigger the basket the better in this instance, as a bigger basket leads to higher water retention which means less maintenance and greater opportunity for bigger and more vibrant plants.
It helps if you have a particular plant in mind before deciding what size to go for, because then you can suit the basket to the flower, instead of the flower to the basket.
The lining of the basket is really important, as it will either help or hinder water retention in the soil. Below are some popular liners and what to expect from them:
Once you have selected and fitted your liner, it’s time to start placing in the soil. Make sure the first layer of soil is between four and five inches above the base of the basket, then pad it down firmly to provide a solid background.
Some gardeners like to insert a drainage pipe into their basket in order to evenly distribute air and water. If you are going to do this, make sure that you leave three or four inches of soil between the bottom of the pipe and the base of the basket. Otherwise, water will just drain straight through the basket and onto the ground!
Once your soil and drainage are in place, put the bulbs of your desired plants into the base of the basket, just below the soil. Make small incisions to your liner if needed, but be aware not to make an incision that’s too big, otherwise too much soil may spill out when watering.
There are a number of different plants for hanging baskets that can survive and even require full sun to thrive and make your home or property look colorful and vibrant. There are a number of different flowers that survive and thrive well in full sun. Some of them include:
One of the things that makes hanging baskets so popular is that they can grow a variety of plants for a wide variety of sunlight and temperature conditions. There are also a number of them that do well in shade or with more limited sunlight. Here are a few:
The great thing about hanging baskets is that they can be used to provide decorations and beauty to homes all year long. Although most people keep their hanging baskets up during spring, summer and early fall, bringing them back inside when the weather gets cold, there are hanging basket plants that thrive in the cold. Some of them include:
Perhaps you’ve never considered hanging baskets for your property’s entrance, but they could make a great addition and help it stand out. A variety of plants can be used for these types of baskets. If you like annuals, good options include plants such as ivy Geranium, lobelia, alyssum and calibrachoa. Prefer perennials? Try ones like parrot’s beak, lamium, Lysimachia, coral bells and Nasturtium. If you’re a fan of succulents, go for Burro’s Tail, Sempervivum, sedums, Delosperma, Senecio and dwarf sansevieria.
Hanging baskets can be hung almost anywhere around a home or property. It all depends on the type of plants in hanging baskets. Most people put them on porches and areas where they want to add color and can easily hang metal or plastic hooks. Hooks that can be stuck into the ground can also be placed around fences and in gardens, with a variety of flowers and plants inside them. The exact placement is dependent upon whether or not the variety of flowers need lots of sun, or shade, high temps or low temps and how much water is needed.
Usually there are a number of reasons plants and flowers wilt or turn yellow. The two most common reason is they are either not getting enough water or they are over-watered. Adjusting the amount of water needed can help. Sometimes the flower may be in the wrong type of sunlight, either too much or too little. Also, flowers do have a life cycle and may just turn yellow and die off when that life cycle is at an end.
The type of flowers you should plant in your hanging baskets depends on a number of factors. What types of flowers and colors do you want? Is it summer or winter where you are? What is the climate like in your area? Does your house get a lot of sun, or very little sun?
In general, the types of flowers that will grow over the edge of the wire hanging basket and crate long, trailing, branches are the preferred type of hanging basket flowers. Brightly colored blooms are also generally preferred to enhance the look of a garden or home.
The first thing you need to do and understand about the flowers in your hanging baskets is to read about them and find out what their water needs are. Also make sure you understand if the variety of hanging basket flowers you are planting need hot climates or cooler ones. Make sure you water them according to the directions that either came with the flowers or ask the garden center experts.
Spring (March – June)
Pansies are always a firm favorite for gardeners in the spring as they are a hardy plant that can withstand any late snowfall or lingering frost.
Their name comes from the French pensee meaning 'a thought’/’hearts ease’, so giving a hanging basket full of pansies as a gift would be ideal for someone special to you.
They also prefer slightly acidic and well drained soil, which makes them well suited to the environment of a hanging basket.
To make your basket even more stunning you could also add a trailing lobelia to hang out of the sides of the basket, whilst the pansies sit on the top. However, you may need to purchase a frost cover for when the temperature falls as lobelias are less hardy than pansies.
Summer (June – September)
Vibrancy and variety are key to a great summer hanging basket, with between 6-8 plants from 2-3 different species ideal.
Fuchsias, yuccas and geraniums are the most popular choices at this time of year, as they provide the colors most associated with summer.
Alternatively, if you want to go for just the one plant then petunias would be best, as they are rapid growers and quickly crowd any other plants nearby.
Autumn (September – December)
The viola ochre is a good plant to have in your autumn hanging basket as the trailing colors of deep blue, purple, white and red typify the colors associated with autumn days and nights. They also prefer a mix of full sun exposure and partial shade, which again is typical of autumn.
Mini cyclamen can be used as standing plants inside the basket, as these vibrant, scented plants can withstand harsh frost.
Cineraria silver dust plants are great plants for adding backdrop to your hanging basket, as their bright silver color gives something original to your garden.
Winter (December – March)
Most gardeners tend to not bother with gardening in general in the winter months, let alone tend to a hanging basket, but if you’re determined to keep your hanging basket looking beautiful all year round, there is one plant that works well in frosty conditions.
Ferns are different from some other plants because they do not yield flowers. If you’d like to use ferns in hanging baskets, note that they should not get much direct sunlight and should be in a protected location. Additionally, ferns should be watered often. They can become gray when they are very dry. Most ferns need moist air
Yes. Hanging basket plants should be smaller in size and should not spread outside of the container’s space. Imagine how annoyed you’d be if the container had to be replaced because the plants became too large! Also, ensure the different types of plants in your hanging basket are agreeable and have similar rates of growth – you won’t want one plant to grow very quickly while another one grows very slowly.
They do. One advantage is the low level of maintenance required, as artificial hanging baskets do not need to be watered. You will also not need to concern yourself with the cost of having the plants watered. Plus, you won’t need to worry about any potential issues resulting from water leakage. It really depends on what your needs are.
Ambius has designers on staff who can make your office look fantastic by providing your workspace with living floral and greenery so you can get the benefits of plants and have an office which looks fantastic. Whether your business could just use a bit of color or a full on Green Wall, our designers can help you. Contact your local Ambius office today.
Ambius is the premier creator of ambiance for businesses. We are committed to enriching the work experience.
Contact the experts at Ambius for any inquiries or to request a free quote.
Does your business have multiple locations? Centralize your services with our National Account Program.