SNAP HOOKS FOR BASKETS: Like cheap solutions to common gardening problems? Anyone who’s grown a hanging basket or pot knows that unless you regularly turn the container, your plants grow better and fuller on the sunnier side and sparser on the shadier side. It’s fairly easy to rotate pots a quarter of a turn every few days to keep the growth even — assuming you can remember to do it. It’s much tougher to turn a hanging basket. You have to climb up, remove the hook and re-hang it in a different position.

Enter a not-so-new gizmo called a “snap hook,” typically sold in hook, hanger and/or key-chain sections of home centers and hardware stores. These sturdy hooks have a snap-in-place hook at one end and a solid eye at the other. More important, they rotate. If you attach your basket hook to the eye and then secure the thing to your overhang by the snap hook, you can then simply rotate the basket without removing it. You can buy a $3 hook at Home Depot that’s rated for 70 pounds. It works beautifully — and this year you wont have lopsided growth.

Select heat-tolerant annuals for baskets in sunny sites; choose bright,
rich bloom colors, which won’t wash out in intense light.

Plenty of fluids – Sunny baskets will need water every day. A household
sponge or a clay saucer, placed in the soil in the bottom of the basket at
planting time, will act as a reservoir and get your baskets through the
hottest days without wilting

Flowering plants struggle to bloom in the shade- impatiens and begonias
are two exceptions- so foliage plants can be a good choice for baskets in
dim light. Look for plants with white and pastel highlights, such as
variegated caladium, coleus, Iresine, and ivy, which come alive in the
shadows.

Skip the plastic baskets this year and design and plant your own unique
hanging creations.

Homemade hanging baskets unlike premade versions, let you combine your
favorite plants.

GETTING SET UP: Aside from plants, soil, and slow-release fertilizer,
you’ll need a wire basket, hook and chain, and coconut fiber liner, all
available at garden centers. The hardware lasts for years.

SIMPLE AS 1-2-3: Each season, insert a new liner, fill with fresh potting
mix, blend in slow-release fertilizer, then plant.  Put cascading plants
close to the edge and upright plants in the center.