With summer heat comes the opportunity to create beautiful hanging basket arrangements! Decorating your house with lovely flowers is one of the best parts about this time of year.
A well-styled hanging planter can instantly elevate a space, whether overflowing with colorful blooms, trailing greenery and succulents, or a mix of both.
For those of us working with small patios, side yards, or limited garden beds, they offer the perfect vertical solution—bringing life to vertical garden walls, fences, or pergolas and softening the edges of hardscapes.
Hanging baskets make your outdoor space feel lush, layered, and intentional during the warmer months. Many plant options thrive in baskets, from bold, trailing petunias to romantic fuchsia.
The key is choosing varieties that grow well in containers and have either a trailing or compact form, so they don’t feel cramped.
Whether you’re aiming for a wild cottage garden look or something more sculptural and refined, here are 12 beautiful plants that flourish in hanging baskets—perfect for patios, balconies, or any corner that needs a dose of charm.
1. Petunias
Petunias are a classic favorite for hanging baskets—and for good reason. They come in nearly every color imaginable, from bright pinks and purples to crisp whites and deep velvety purples. Their trumpet-shaped blooms are showy and plentiful, often blooming from spring to fall with minimal fuss.
Petunias thrive in full sun and prefer well-draining soil. Make sure to water them regularly, especially during hot summer days, and deadhead spent blooms to keep the plant looking fresh and vibrant. Many varieties have a trailing habit, making them perfect for cascading over the sides of your basket.
2. Trailing Lobelia
Lantana is a tough, sun-loving plant that thrives in heat and drought conditions, making it an excellent choice for hanging baskets. It’s known for its clusters of tiny, multi-colored blooms—often blending pinks, oranges, yellows, and purples all in one flower head. The effect is bold, cheerful, and incredibly eye-catching.
Lantana has a spreading, trailing growth habit, so it naturally spills over the edges of containers. It’s also a pollinator magnet, attracting butterflies and bees all season long. As a bonus, it’s highly resilient and blooms nonstop from late spring through fall with minimal care.
Give it full sun, well-drained soil, and an occasional trim to keep it looking tidy. Lantana is one of the easiest ways to add vibrant color to your patio or porch—especially if you live in a hot or dry climate.
3. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum is an underrated gem for hanging baskets. This low-growing annual produces dense clusters of tiny flowers that emit a sweet, honey-like fragrance. It’s often seen in white, but you can also find purple and pink varieties.
This plant does well in both full sun and partial shade and requires only moderate watering. It attracts pollinators, adds a cloud-like appearance to your basket, and plays nicely with nearly every other plant on this list.
4. Verbena
If you want non-stop blooms, look no further than verbena. With its cheerful clusters of flowers and sprawling habit, verbena is ideal for spilling over the sides of hanging baskets. It comes in vivid hues like red, purple, and lavender and adds instant vibrancy to your display.
Verbena loves the sun and tolerates heat well, making it an excellent option for hot patios or balconies. Once established, it’s drought-tolerant and low maintenance. Regular deadheading will encourage fresh blooms all season long.
5. Ivy Geranium
Ivy geraniums are elegant and highly heat-tolerant. They produce clusters of blooms in rich shades—red, pink, lilac, or white—while their ivy-like foliage tumbles gracefully over the edge of containers.
These geraniums thrive in full sun to partial shade and prefer moderate watering. Their glossy leaves and neat growing habit make them a tidy yet dramatic addition to any hanging basket.
6. Boston Fern
Not all hanging baskets need to be filled with flowers—lush foliage can be just as impactful. Boston ferns are a beautiful option for shaded porches or under covered patios, offering vibrant green fronds that bring a calming, tropical feel.
Ferns prefer indirect light and moist soil. They’re especially well-suited to humid climates, and they help purify the air if used indoors. In baskets, their arching leaves create a soft, full look that moves beautifully in the breeze.
7. Strawberry Plants
Strawberries aren’t just for the vegetable garden—they make fantastic hanging basket plants too! These compact plants produce charming white flowers, bright green foliage, and of course, delicious fruit that dangles temptingly over the basket’s edge.
Strawberries need full sun and consistent watering to thrive. Choose everbearing varieties for a longer harvest season. They’re a fun and functional addition to any patio or balcony, especially if you’re gardening with kids.
8. Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are vibrant, fast-growing, and entirely edible—from the leaves to the flowers. Their bold colors range from warm yellows to fiery oranges and reds, and their trailing vines make them ideal for baskets and vertical planters.
They’re incredibly easy to grow from seed and love full sun. Bonus: nasturtiums naturally deter some pests, making them a smart companion plant in any garden. With their cottage-garden feel, they add cheer and whimsy wherever they grow.
9. Impatiens
For shaded areas where sun-loving plants struggle, impatiens are a top performer. They offer lush blooms in pinks, reds, purples, and whites, and thrive in part to full shade—making them perfect for porches, covered patios, or north-facing entryways.
Impatiens don’t trail much, but their full, mounding growth habit works beautifully in baskets. They require consistent moisture, especially during hot spells, and benefit from rich, well-draining soil.
10. Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)
Creeping Jenny is all about texture and color. With its bright chartreuse leaves and fast-spreading habit, it’s a show-stopper in hanging baskets. This trailing foliage plant looks beautiful paired with flowering plants or grouped with other greens for a monochromatic look.
It tolerates both sun and shade but performs best in part shade with regular watering. Creeping Jenny adds an elegant cascade and vibrant contrast to any container arrangement.
11. Begonias
Begonias come in many varieties, but the ones best suited for hanging baskets are the trailing and fibrous types. These easy-care plants offer continuous blooms, often in coral, pink, or red, and have attractive, sometimes variegated leaves.
They prefer partial shade and appreciate evenly moist soil. Begonias are especially popular for their long bloom time, making them a go-to choice for gardeners who want low-maintenance color from spring through fall.
12. Fuchsia
Fuchsia’s unique, pendulous flowers are the definition of drama. With their two-tone petals and striking shape, they dangle from stems like miniature lanterns. Hummingbirds belove these plants and look stunning in hanging baskets.
Fuchsias prefer cooler temperatures and partial shade, making them ideal for covered patios or northern climates. To encourage continued flowering, keep them consistently watered and remove faded blooms.
Final Tips for Hanging Basket Success
To get the most from your hanging baskets, remember to:
- Choose plants with similar care needs. Sun lovers should be grouped, and shade plants should have space.
- Use high-quality potting mix. A light, well-draining soil ensures roots don’t get waterlogged.
- Water regularly. Hanging baskets dry out more quickly than ground containers, especially in summer heat.
- Fertilize every few weeks. Use a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer to keep blooms coming.
- Deadhead spent flowers. This encourages new growth and keeps baskets looking their best.
Ready to Create Your Own Hanging Basket?
There’s something gratifying about stepping outside and seeing a beautiful burst of color right at eye level. Whether you’re aiming for a cottage garden feel or a lush jungle look, these 12 plants will help you create hanging baskets that are vibrant, easy to care for, and full of personality.
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