Hanging baskets aren’t just for summer, so don’t put them away in your shed just yet! October is a great month to start planning your baskets for winter and ensuring colour through to spring.

We are used to thinking of our gardens being full of vibrant shades in the summer, but actually it’s the colder months when we could really do with that lift and pop of colour.

To get started on your hanging baskets, you will need a rich, good quality soil and compost, according to expert gardener Peter Dowdall.

Read more: Expert tips to prepare your home and garden to change from BBQs to cosy fireside nights

"My top trick for achieving flowers for months to come is to overfill the basket with plants. They should be full from the very start, and an important thing to remember is you don’t space out your flowers as you would in the garden.

"Hanging baskets don’t need as much attention as during the summer, but winter winds can be very drying. You might think Mother Nature will take care of a lot of the watering in winter, but only to a degree," he says.

Peter says we could still have a sunny month, so it’s important to continue to water possibly through October. "Remember to pay attention to your hanging baskets or window boxes that could be sheltered from the rain by your house – just because it’s raining doesn’t mean they are benefiting from it."

Choosing the right plants

When you’re picking plants for your hanging baskets, Peter says we should consider pollinator-friendly plants and make sure we are doing some good for local ecology as well.

"Some great options include winter flowering heather which will give a really great blast of colour, but will also help sustain insect life and wildlife. You could also use some ornamental grasses which not only give colour but their seed heads can be beneficial in feeding small birds too.

"Other plants that are a great option for winter are skimmia. These also contain berries which not only give you as much colour as flowers, but will feed the birds later in winter."

Traditional winter flowers such as pansies and cyclamen are popular too, according to the gardener, although it’s worth noting that a lot of these have been so intensively hybridised to give colour and specific attributes that they are no longer any good for pollinators. "They’re still gorgeous however and lovely to have in the garden. I have them in my own, especially around Christmas, but they’re no use for the insects."

By choosing the right plants you can enjoy your hanging baskets right into the spring, Peter says. Winter flowering heathers will give you colour for three or four months, berries will last right through until the spring, and then your pansies and cyclamen will certainly last four months as well.

"You could also look at mixing in some ornamental grasses; check out a plant called heuchera, a beautiful shade-friendly perennial which has more than a hundred different varieties with foliage colours. There you have colour for nearly 12 months of the year because you’re not relying on a finite period of flowering."

If you’re replacing your summer hanging baskets, make sure you empty the soil and old composts straight onto the top of your garden beds, or into the compost bin if you’re living in an apartment.

Hanging baskets dos and don’ts

• Make sure you use enough soil for the size of the basket. The biggest mistake people make with their hanging baskets is not filling them enough and not using enough plants.
• Letting the hanging baskets dry out is a big issue in this country. People assume living in Ireland it won’t be a problem, but the baskets are often sheltered by your house and even just the wind can dry them out more than you would think.
• Just like regular flowers, hanging baskets need some pruning and deadheading every so often. Once a month, take the basket down and give it some TLC.
• The larger and heavier the basket, the sturdier the hook needs to be. It’s important to ensure the hanging mechanism is strong enough to withstand the winter months.

For more tips, follow Peter, The Irish Gardener at PeterDowdall.com.

Not sure where to go with your garden? The right place to start is an online garden consultation with garden design expert, Peter Dowdall.

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