Create a cascade of blooms

Dress up your garden with gorgeous bunches of flowers and lush fronds of greenery cascading down from a unique vertical arrangement designed to hang from a gate or fence.

This easy-to-make, easy-to-maintain planter is suitable for a large country garden, a small city lot, an apartment balcony or even a patio wall. Its creator, Jan Mather, a professional garden designer and author of Designing Alberta Gardens (Red Deer College Press, 1994), takes us through the four easy steps involved in making a hanging planter. Her expert advice on which plants to use for your project, along with helpful tips on watering, will ensure successful results and beautiful lasting blooms.

What a perfect way to start off your spring -- with a weekend project that with sprout colorful flowers all summer long.

Our finished hanging garden measures approx 30 x 120 cm (1 x 4 ft), but yours can be any size.

Supplies
3/4-in plywood, 1 x 4 ft, for back
3/4-in plywood, 6 x 12 in, for bottom
Heavy~gauge black plastic, 61 x 150 cm (2 X 5ft)
Perforated rubber tubing or old garden hose, 120 cm (4 ft)
Stucco wire, 61 x 150 cm
Annual plants, about 100
Premixed soilless mix and slow-release fertilizer, 2 cubic ft
2 elbow brackets, 6 in, with wood screws
Galvanized nails, 1/2 in
No. 12 wood screws, 2 in

Tools
Heavy-duty staple gun and staples
Hand drill with 1/4-in bit
Hammer
Utility Knife
Wood block to tamp soil, about 4 ft long

Flower facts
Choose plants that are suited to the area you live in.

For sun-loving annuals, try some nasturtiums, sweet alyssum, lobelia and cascading petunias; for shady areas, try tuberous begonias, fuchsias, pansies, ivy, Martha Washington geraniums and impatiens.

Use trailing fonds of ivy to attractively set off flowering plants in a planter, Kenilworth ivy is particularly suited to shady areas.

Planter pointers
The tubing should be visible at the top of the vertical garden to facilitate vmtering. Water as often as necessary, keeping in mind that the top of the planter dries out faster than the bottom.

Attach a clear plastic sheet to the gate or fence behind the planter to protect it from water damage.

To establish a focal point in your yard, accent an existing structure, such as an arbor, with a hanging vertical arrangement.