Hanging baskets

At the Heaves Hotel demonstration, a group of enthusiasts went back to the basket basics as Mr Howarth stressed the importance of good compost, profuse feeding and a few gel crystals as the starting point for creating gorgeous displays.

The demonstration began with lining the baskets with a good coating of moss raked off the lawn or some sheep's wool - but not just any old clumps retrieved from barbed wire.

"That's still got grease on it, it needs to be bought as a prepared material."

Next comes good multi-purpose compost - " not soil out of the garden full of bugs and weeds," stressed the experienced gardener.

The gel crystals are a thoughtful addition to keep the baskets moist for longer and save gardeners' watering arms.

The group then got down to the exciting bit - planting up their baskets with blooms donated by Holmes of Natland.

Mr Howarth chose colourful begonias or fuschias as the principal plant followed by some good trailers.

" Variegated Nepeta goes on the side of the baskets for long colour or variegated ivy."

Reliable spreading plants like petunias or sophina are then a vital addition.

"These spread and hang down in glorious colours," enthused Mr Howarth.

After the planting comes the tender loving care for which regular feeding is necessary.

"They are growing all the time.

You have got to feed them up to get them flowering."

To keep baskets looking lush from now until September, Mr Howarth recommended time-release fertiliser pellets as a back-up to regular liquid feeding to satisfy the plants' immense nutrient thirst.

- The next Peter Howarth workshop on plant propagation, run in association with Holmes of Natland, will be held at the Heaves Hotel, on May 8.