Make a Hanging Flower Basket

It is that time of year when you go into the flower shops and they have the most amazing hanging baskets of flowers... for about $60.  You can make your own - plan ahead and buy your hanging basket somewhere else because chances are - the flower shop won't sell empty baskets!  I save mine from year to year.

I think I am going to do just one hanging basket this year.  Sometimes I put them all along my front porch, but they take a beating from the wind.  My kitchen porch is a bit shaded, so begonia's do well there.  The pink/white one is called Apple Blossom (I got 2).  I added one pink geranium, one pink double impatiens that look like little roses, 2 white verbena (the white ball flowers that spread everywhere) and 2 white bacopa. Here is the box coming home in my car.  

Use a GOOD potting soil for containers - look for the kind that says that it helps retain moisture.  I mix a little peat moss in with mine.  Put the soil in the pot, add all your plants, cover with more soil and water really well.  Let it sit right there in the sun all day.  It is still cold here so I am bringing mine in at night.  I am keeping mine out on the patio - out of the wind - for at least a week so it can get established before I put it out front where it is windier.

Here is is!  This will really fill out!  It is going to need to be feed Miracle Grow about every 10 days all summer because there are LOTS of plants in this one basket.  The hanging baskets at the nursery don't have this many plants and are at least twice the price. Go ahead - try to make your own!  It is fun to pick out the flower combinations and since you know your house, you can get the flowers that will do best in that spot!
*
What are some of your favorite flower combinations for baskets?