The Real First Signs of Spring
Most of us can barely wait for the first signs of spring. Crocus, snowdrops, dainty violas, pansies—all are welcome signs. But for me, the first real sign (!!) — and the most exciting part of early spring — was putting together the hanging baskets for our front porch. For many years we had good sized hanging baskets on our front porch. Then came the day we remodeled our porch, and since hanging baskets dripped water, we decided not to use them anymore. But what a hard decision!! As you can see, they add so much to a front porch!
This basket was planted very early in the spring—as soon as these plants became available. We had four hanging baskets and planted them all the same most of the time. When it became too hot, these baskets had to be replanted. But — it satisfied my need for color and flowers early in the spring. Isn’t this next basket just beautiful? While it couldn’t be planted quite as early as the first basket, it was planted the minute these beautiful flowers were in stock. And so worth the wait. The following basket was also planted as early as possible; this photo shows it when it was mature; so pretty.
This is another view of the last basket. We had four of these across our front porch; the overall look was stunning. The middle basket has one of my favorite petunias, supertunia Pretty Much Picasso. It is gorgeous and easy to grow. They lasted most of the growing season; when they got too leggy we replaced them. The last basket has replacement flowers in it. We used this combination one year to replace the very early spring baskets. While they were pretty, they weren’t as spectacular as some of the other baskets we had over the years.
At one time or another, most of us have used sweet potato vines in our hanging baskets. Depending on what plants you put with them, they can be outstanding. (They can also over power less vigorous growers!) This photo is of a basket at the very end of the season, when we had removed all the other flowers. We left it for a few weeks just because it was still so vigorous. (We named it Jack in the Beanstalk’s vine.)
Final thought:
I love the look of beautiful hanging baskets. They add a softening, almost cottage-y look to all but the most formal of homes. Sometimes it may not be possible to add these beauties, but if you can, it is so worth it!