"Summertime and the livin' is easy" while you sit on your patio or balcony. But something is missing—and it turns out to be flowers! There's really no more room for pots on the ground so let's hoist the color up in the air into some hanging baskets.

Yes, you can make your own hanging baskets but for your first effort, it would be best to use a 12 inch or 14 inch wire basket. Later, you can graduate up to a 24 inch or 32 inch basket if that suits your needs. You will also need a 6 inch by 8 inch cube of sphagnum moss, one cubic foot of Gardener's Gold potting soil, a plastic waste basket liner, a serrated grapefruit knife and your assortment of bedding plants. Wire baskets and chains are available at Wegman's for your hanging basket needs.

Soak your sphagnum moss in a pail of water until it separates and can be pressed to shape. Press the moss onto the inside of the wire basket to cover the entire inside about one inch thick. Next, open the plastic bag and place it inside the basket and outside the moss. The excess on the top will be cut off later. The bag will be used to contain the soil inside the moss-lined basket. Use your knife to stab six or eight holes in the plastic bag for drainage.

Fill the bag and basket to within one-half inch of the top with Gardener's Gold. Now, start arranging your plants (see below for suggestions of plants for sun or shade) across the top. The general rule is to put a tall plant in the center and low plants toward the edge. Trailing plants to hang down the sides of the basket (bacopa, vinca minor, lamium, etc.) can also be planted along the edge of the basket. These plants should all be small from cell packs.

Using the grapefruit knife cut one-inch square holes around the bottom of the basket. Cut in-between the 'spokes' of the wire basket and all the way through into the potting soil. Remove a plant from the cell pack and squeeze the soil flat so you can stuff the soil and plant through the hole and into the soil. Finish the bottom row. Move up a couple of inches and make another row of holes so they are spaced in between the first set of holes. Plant the second set of holes with plants of your choice as before. Finally, if there is room, make a third row of holes (which would be in line with the first set of holes)and insert your plants as before. Trim off any excess bag just below the soil level.

Hang your basket in a suitable environment and water thoroughly until it drains out the bottom. Every month use Master Nursery All Purpose (18-18-18) fertilizer in your watering solution to provide the plants with adequate nutrients.

It will take three to four weeks of growth before your hanging basket fills out and has that massive flowery look you want. If you need the basket for a specific date, allow enough time for the plants to grow and fill in all the spaces. Another use for the baskets is to hang them from the eaves in front of your kitchen windows so neighbors can't see in. Or try hanging baskets from lower limbs of trees for some added color.

For just outside your kitchen make an herb/vegetable hanging basket. You will be able to step right outside your kitchen for fresh herbs or a tomato for your salad!

Suggested Plants:

Sun: alyssum, felicia, petunia, lobelia, dwarf marigold, vinca rosea, dwarf iinnia, ivy geranium, portulaca, dianthus, nemesia, sedum
Shade: lamium, heuchera, impatiens, bacopa, vinca minor, thyme, leaved fuchsia, fibrous begonia.
Vegetables: 'Patio' tomato, 'Husky' tomato, basil, lettuce, parsley, oregano, cilantro, chives, thyme, rosemary.

Our indoor garden is blooming too! We have baskets full of blooms to bring the colors from your garden indoors. We have Easter egg colors of Hydrangeas for your home or giving as a gift. An Easter lily, the classically beautiful white lily plant with its long, graceful leaves, is the perfect choice for Easter or spring celebrations. Want a brilliant way to celebrate Easter? Give a bright azalea. Come in and walk through our indoor garden gallery today.

Peonies have spectacular double blooms which are displayed on the erect stems of this clumping perennial. They are excellent background plant for spring bulbs, or use in perennial or shrub borders. Peonies are a choice cut flower.

Everything is in full bloom. We have an incredible selection of bedding plants, colors and textures, just in time for those spring showers. Get planting to get the maximum length of color and bloom from your garden.

Whether you are planting beds, containers, vegetable gardens, or baskets we have a unique combination for you. Need some advice on interesting combinations?

Ask the Wegman Experts or Oden, Bedding Manager.

Heidi Pellarin also grew up in the nursery. While she serves as CFO you will frequently see her assisting customers or in the bedding department. Heidi is also a CCN Pro when not being the financial wizard of the company.

Heidi has a wide ranging knowledge that only can be obtained by having work in the nursery all of her life. Whether you are interested in fountains or photinia, Heidi is able to help you!