spring basket

Old baskets can easily be lined to make perfect planters for a spring flower display, either to put on your own windowsill or as an Easter present for someone special. You can choose ribbons to coordinate with the color of your plants, as well as add other small decorations to brighten up the basket.

You will need

• ✿ scissors
• ✿ piece of plastic for the liner (e.g. an old potting-mix bag)
• ✿ old wicker basket with a handle
• ✿ gravel
• ✿ potting mix
• ✿ spring plants (e.g. hyacinths, miniature daffodils, primroses, and small-leaved ivies)
• ✿ moss (real or sphagnum)
• ✿ ribbons
• ✿ small decorations, such as colored eggs or toy bunny rabbits

Step 1

Cut out a piece of plastic to line the wicker basket. Cut holes in the liner every 4in (10cm) and place it inside the basket.

Step 2

Fill the base of the lined basket with some gravel to help drainage. Add a layer of potting mix, firming it down as you go.

Step 3

Carefully take your plants out of their pots and place them in the basket. When you are happy with how they look, add more potting mix around them to fill the basket to just below the rim. When you have finished planting, add sphagnum moss or real moss around the plants to create a lawn effect.

Try this...thrift (charity) shops are great places to find old baskets.

Step 4

Wrap a ribbon around the handle, leaving some extra lengths at both ends. Wrap a second ribbon around the handle in the other direction to make a pretty crisscross pattern, and again leave some lengths at the ends. Tie the two ribbon ends together to form bows at the bases of the handle.

Step 5

Water the basket well outside, ensuring that any excess water has finished running out of the base before placing it on a windowsill. Finish off the planted basket with the decorations and then water carefully when needed, making sure you don’t overwater.