Hanging Baskets and Containers
Canada’s unpredictable weather means that a fall refresh, or new planting in your hanging basket or container is not always possible. Instead, maintain what you have for the remainder of the season, or until the first frost, whichever comes first and begin planning for next year.
Displays work best when they incorporate height, structure and flow. These are often referred to as: a spiller, a thriller and a filler. The key to a successful display is to keep these three in harmony. Whether you opt for all-flowers, all-edibles or a mix of both, this easy-to-follow formula ensures you’ll have a long-lived, vibrant display. Best of all, you can grow all of CSL’s suggestions below from seed, corm, cutting or bulb.
Spiller
A spiller usually means any trailing plant, creeper or climber. Good examples include moss rose, lobelia, and petunias. Edibles include nasturtium, creeping thyme and strawberries.
Thriller
A showstopper that adds height and pizazz to your display is a thriller like crocosmia, gladiolus, iris, hollyhocks or snapdragons. Edibles include tomatoes, amaranth, Swiss chard or borage.
Filler
To add volumes of abundant foliage choose fillers like pansies, grasses, or alyssum. Edibles include herbs (cilantro, mint, oregano or chives), carrots and calendula.
TOOLKIT
OSC Fordhook Giant Organic Swiss Chard Seeds 4195, $2.99.
OSC Super Swiss Giant Pansy Seeds (Mixed Colours) 5885, $2.99.
OSC Oregano Seeds 3075, $2.19.
OSC Trailing Sapphire Lobelia Seeds 5595, $2.19; all oscseeds.com.
This original article first appeared in the FALL 2025 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
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