Using perennials to create a colourful display
Creating a colourful display of perennials in a hanging basket or wine barrel is fun, creative, rewarding and a fab way to add a pop of perennial colour to even the tiniest of outdoor spaces.
Choosing your plants
Planting one variety is the easiest and quickest way to create a colourful hanging basket or wine barrel. If you’re feeling creative, you can pick any number of plants to create a stunning mix.
Plant taller-growing plants in the centre and lower-growing or trailing plants - to tumble attractively over the edge - around the outside.
If in doubt, use the colour wheel to pick colour combinations. For example, you can create eye-catching contrast by choosing colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel, like purple and yellow.
Perfect perennial picks
- Bacopa
- Brachyscome daisies
- Calibrachoa
- Convolvulus Mauritanicus
- Delosperma
- Dicondra ‘Silver Falls’
- Fuchsia
- Geraniums (pelargoniums)
- Heliotrope
- Limonium
- Lobelia
- Petunias
- Sedum
- Verbena
- Viola
Planting and care
- All the nutrients your plants need will be found in the soil, so make sure you use a good-quality potting mix. A good-quality potting mix will feature an Australian Standards Mark set of ticks on the packaging. This shows it's passed a series of stringent tests.
- Hanging baskets will drain faster than other containers such as wine barrels, so take care to water often, but don’t over-water. The soil should be kept moist but not wet.
- Feed little and often. Give your plants slow-release fertiliser or feed with half-strength plant food every two to three weeks.
- There’s no need to mulch. With time, the plants will cover the soil, thereby naturally keeping water in.
- To encourage flowering, trim any spent flowers once a week.
- Read your plant’s label to make sure you’re grouping together plants with similar sun and shade needs.
- Make sure you allow plenty of room for plants to grow.