Elevate to New Heights

Give a colorful or textural punch at eye level — even in the smallest of spaces — by choosing a hanging planter filled with flowers or c-shaped leaves. Raise containers off the ground with hanging baskets, planters, and plants. They create a sense of dimension, add vertical appeal, and make even small outdoor seating areas feel larger by drawing the eye up. Hanging containers are more than just annuals. Plant them with textural succulents, layers of lush foliage, and tactile berries and moss. Remember that hanging plants dry out quickly, so use quality potting soil, slow-release fertilizer, and regular (daily) watering on hot days.

1. Clear View

Turn a standard metal wire basket with a coconut fiber liner, available at garden centers, online, and big-box stores, into a hanging delight by pairing Surfinia Deep Red and Giant Purple petunias with two-tone Calibrachoa in yellow-red and orange-red, all framed by dangling vines of Dichondra repens.

2. Mossy Gallery

Line with 12-inch- to 16-inch-wide wire baskets with handles lined with soaked moss. For a fall look, choose classic flowering annuals like yellow mums, purple asters, yellow-and-purple pansies, and spiky pink calluna. Pair the flowers with foliage like green or red heuchera and chartreuse abelia.

Tip: A mix of two annuals and one foliage variety in each basket creates a balanced look. Pull in some decorative burnt-orange berry strands for a fall touch. Hang in a partially sunny spot and water regularly. Spray the moss with water if it needs an extra drink.

3. Mounted Pleasure

Adorn an outdoor entryway or covered seating area with a hanging arrangement for shade. Petite begonia 'Prelude Pink', splashy magenta elatior begonia (Begonia x hyemalis), golden creeping zinnia and colorful ivy (Hedera helix 'Patricia') bring beauty to the home.

4. Foliage Intricacy

Enhance the arrangement by adorning the hanging planter with succulents. Here, creeping inchwort (Callisia repens), a semi-succulent, shines as a door-side accent. Grow in well-draining potting soil or succulent cactus potting soil. Let the soil dry completely before watering again. Hang in a bright spot out of direct sunlight.

5. On a hook

Don’t have a porch roof or overhang to hang a plant from? Shepherd’s hooks, sold at garden centers, are ready to do the job. Place them as a focal point, near a door for eye-level color, or as part of a container grouping in the yard to add verticality. Here, red begonias paired with blue pots elicit oohs and ahs.

6 Hanging Planting Tips

Help your hanging container look its best all summer long with these steps.

a. Soil

Fill the center with quality, well-draining potting soil. Mix a slow-release granular fertilizer into the soil before planting.

b. Water

Hanging plants dry out quickly, so it’s important to water regularly. Feel the top inch of soil to determine if it’s dry. Or test the weight of the basket - a lighter basket will need watering. When temperatures rise, plan

c. Feed

Apply a liquid fertilizer every two weeks to help the plants grow. Larger baskets may need to be fertilized twice a week for more blooms.

d. Hang the planting material in a location that gets enough light to suit the growth habits of the chosen plants - full sun, partial sun or shade.

e. Deadhead and pinch off faded flowers regularly to encourage new blooms.

f. Hanging

Use a hook screw, toggle screw, J-hook or S-hook to hang the planting material. Heavier planting materials will need hooks screwed into the porch or overhanging support joists. You can also hang plants from shepherd's hooks. Water daily.

7. Textural Cascade

Take advantage of the beautiful appearance of foliage by mounting the colorful leaves of shade-tolerant plants like begonias, coleus, caladiums, coral bells, fuchsia, lobelia, and spurflowers on a single plant. Here, the knockout leaves of silver-lavender Begonia trex 'First Blush' and gold-tipped spurflowers (Plectranthus ciliatus 'Troy's Gold') shine in a shady spot.