Old baskets make great accent containers to display dried flowers indoors for a rustic look and plant directly in them for a living cottage style arrangement in the garden! I have a large basket I will be planting up this summer so watch this thread for more updates!

I think that is a great idea, plus you are recycling old things that are just sitting around!! A good way to clear out some of that stuff in the basement!

Yes, basements often have lots of interesting items stashed in them!

You should see mine!! Unbelievable!

Oh that sounds very interesting ~ planting in a basket in the garden. Looking forward to seeing your updates.

I'll be planting one out as soon as the weather is more stable temps. I've heard plants will root right through the wicker basket and into the garden!

I like to place several pots of geraniums into one basket and sprinkle annual babybreath seeds around each geranium.

What a great idea Caroline! That would be like have an arrangement blooming all summer in the garden! I think I have some seeds for the annual pink babys breath so I will spinkle the seeds arround the other plants in the basket. Do you have any pictures of yours?

Not yet, as it is still a gamble here to put plants out.

I've just been putting some out this past week and it is finally warming up I'll wait to get a picture of my basket though since its just a bunch of transplants.

Caroline, how is your basket coming?

I finally got a picture of mine planted with the Poor-Mans-Orchid. It is really lovely and they really go with the basket. Hopefully they will flower for a good part of the summer. You can't really see them in this pic but the is also some dwarf 'Fireworks' Dahlias in there too to pick up the show if the Poor-Mans-Orchid fades.

heres a close up

they are very exotic looking

well, I guess they are exotic since they come from South America but they are very easy to grow!

I really like those!!!!!

Those are such pretty orchids and yes, the basket goes with the flowers perfectly.

Thanks Christine! I am hoping they flower all summer! You should try growing them in your cooler months, they are really easy to grow!

Nice idea. I wonder if there is some kind of UV and water resistant paint that will protect and extend the life of a basket? I have or had several baskets that I have collected over the years. Though I may have tossed a bunch of them to clean up my garage. But painting them would keep them lasting longer, right?

What a good idea Becky! I'm really not sure but I will look next time I'm at HD, they have an excellent selection of spraypaint. I never thought of spraying them to preserve them better

I use polyurethane to protect my outside baskets. I have never planted in them, I have them as decor on my potting table and use them for gathering cut flowers. I also use them to make arrangements, here is one of my funky basket arrangements.

wow, Candee, you have some pretty flowers and arrangements. and those squash are very neat! are they heirlooms? or some sort of gourd? All pretty!