Alan Titchmarsh says hanging baskets last longer if you add one ingredient
Hanging baskets can provide a splash of colour outside your front door, but the downside is that they require a huge amount of water compared to other garden displays. With heatwaves coming around seemingly every other week, hanging floral displays need more care than ever.
On his new YouTube channel, Gardeners' World expert Alan Titchmarsh has shared three new ideas for hanging baskets, including a drought-resistant design based around succulents. However, the most essential tip for preparing a new hanging basket, he says, involves a cheap addition that can be bought for a few pounds at any garden centre.
He explains that water-storing crystals are a game-changer for hanging baskets: 'You can add them to the compost, sprinkle them in, work them in with your fingers, and once water hits that, they expand and they become a kind of gel. They stop the hanging basket drying out.' Gardeners have also been advised to use old sponges for similar reasons.
'The funny thing about hanging baskets is they divide the population,' Alan says. 'You either love them or loathe them.' They're generally made of plastic-coated wire, or in some cases lightweight plastic, and lined with materials such as materials like coco coir, jute, or moss.
Alan recommends getting a good sturdy wide-framed one, and standing it on top of a bucket to keep it steady while you add your plants. Alan chops holes in the coir mat to allow a few plants to peep through, as: 'Otherwise, you end up looking at a load of wire and coir rather than plants.'
While ordinary peat-free compost is perfectly fine, Alan recommends getting some specially-formulated trough and basket compost.
Mixing some water-storing crystals in with your compost will increase the longevity of your plants, so you don't end up returning from work on a hot day to find your plants dried out.
As you then plant your first batch of plants, around the edge, you can use the pieces of coir that you've cut out to fill in any remaining gaps.
He lists a number of plants that do well in hanging baskets, including ivy, which can create a decorative trailing border, and bacopa Megacopa Blue. Bacopa is a popular choice for baskets, with attractive bluish-purple, five-petalled flowers that cascade attractively over the rim of the basket – lasting several months from June right up until October.
He also recommends Diascia Flying Colours Appleblossom, which has pink blooms that also flourish from summer to early autumn, and Million Bells, also known as Calibrachoa, featuring small, pleasing, petunia-like flowers.
But Alan's most interesting recommendations are for his all-succulent basket: 'They have their own in-built supply of water in these fleshy leaves and they can go without water for days.'
While succulents might seem a bit unexciting, there are flowering varieties such as Echeveria. Echeveria is a comparatively easy plant to grow, doing well in bright but indirect light. They require comparatively little watering, but you should collect rainwater rather than filling your watering-can from the tap, because many succulents aren't keen on fluoride.
The only thing you have to watch for with Echeveria is bringing it indoors before the first frost - it really doesn't like the cold.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Alan Titchmarsh says hanging baskets last longer if you add one ingredient
A hanging basket offers a colourful welcome at your front door when you return home, or can be used as a handy mini herb garden – Alan Titchmarsh recommends a cheap addition that will make plants last much longer Hanging baskets can provide a splash of colour outside your front door, but the downside is that they require a huge amount of water compared to other garden displays. With heatwaves coming around seemingly every other week, hanging floral displays need more care than ever. On his new YouTube channel, Gardeners' World expert Alan Titchmarsh has shared three new ideas for hanging baskets, including a drought-resistant design based around succulents. However, the most essential tip for preparing a new hanging basket, he says, involves a cheap addition that can be bought for a few pounds at any garden centre. He explains that water-storing crystals are a game-changer for hanging baskets: 'You can add them to the compost, sprinkle them in, work them in with your fingers, and once water hits that, they expand and they become a kind of gel. They stop the hanging basket drying out.' Gardeners have also been advised to use old sponges for similar reasons. 'The funny thing about hanging baskets is they divide the population,' Alan says. 'You either love them or loathe them.' They're generally made of plastic-coated wire, or in some cases lightweight plastic, and lined with materials such as materials like coco coir, jute, or moss. Alan recommends getting a good sturdy wide-framed one, and standing it on top of a bucket to keep it steady while you add your plants. Alan chops holes in the coir mat to allow a few plants to peep through, as: 'Otherwise, you end up looking at a load of wire and coir rather than plants.' While ordinary peat-free compost is perfectly fine, Alan recommends getting some specially-formulated trough and basket compost. Mixing some water-storing crystals in with your compost will increase the longevity of your plants, so you don't end up returning from work on a hot day to find your plants dried out. As you then plant your first batch of plants, around the edge, you can use the pieces of coir that you've cut out to fill in any remaining gaps. He lists a number of plants that do well in hanging baskets, including ivy, which can create a decorative trailing border, and bacopa Megacopa Blue. Bacopa is a popular choice for baskets, with attractive bluish-purple, five-petalled flowers that cascade attractively over the rim of the basket – lasting several months from June right up until October. He also recommends Diascia Flying Colours Appleblossom, which has pink blooms that also flourish from summer to early autumn, and Million Bells, also known as Calibrachoa, featuring small, pleasing, petunia-like flowers. But Alan's most interesting recommendations are for his all-succulent basket: 'They have their own in-built supply of water in these fleshy leaves and they can go without water for days.' While succulents might seem a bit unexciting, there are flowering varieties such as Echeveria. Echeveria is a comparatively easy plant to grow, doing well in bright but indirect light. They require comparatively little watering, but you should collect rainwater rather than filling your watering-can from the tap, because many succulents aren't keen on fluoride. The only thing you have to watch for with Echeveria is bringing it indoors before the first frost - it really doesn't like the cold.
Scottish Sun
14-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Add a tropical touch to your garden with half-price tree that has masses of candy-pink flowers & lives for decades
These long-living trees arrive ready to plant in bloom FLOWER POWER Add a tropical touch to your garden with half-price tree that has masses of candy-pink flowers & lives for decades Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) GARDENERS can add a tropical touch to their garden this summer with a stunning pair of 'Candy Pink' Hibiscus Trees – now half price, and set to last for decades. The pair of trees has been slashed from £59.99 to just £29.99. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Each tree has been specially grafted to produce strong, healthy growth and an abundance of flowers year after year Credit: Getty The offer is available online at Gardening Express, which delivers across the UK, including London, Manchester, Birmingham, and beyond. These eye-catching trees boast masses of vibrant candy-pink blooms and arrive at around 3–4ft tall in containers, ready to be planted into beds, borders or stylish planters. Perfect patio pairing Whether placed on patios, decking or either side of a doorway, they promise to transform your outdoor space with a Mediterranean flair. Perfect for adding a pop of colour and a touch of exotic charm, these hibiscus trees are ideal for creating a garden that feels like a sunny getaway – without ever leaving home. Delivered already well-established, they're easy to care for and thrive in British gardens. If you order during the flowering season, there's a good chance they'll be bursting into bloom by the time they arrive at your door. Built to last Each tree has been specially grafted to produce strong, healthy growth and an abundance of flowers year after year. Unlike more delicate varieties, these are designed to survive the UK climate and grow happily in both full sun and partial shade. Position them in matching pots on either side of your front door for maximum impact, or use them as striking centrepieces in beds or borders. If you're on the hunt for more blooming bargains, several high-street favourites are also offering cracking garden deals. Alan Titchmarsh's top 7 plants that 'transform ugly fences with gorgeous flowers & fragrance' & they grow for years More blooming bargains B&M shoppers have spotted tropical plants like hibiscus and hydrangeas for as little as 50p, while Lidl's middle aisle is packed with budget-friendly blooms including mini roses and Oriental lilies starting from £1.99. Over at B&Q, you can pick up drought-tolerant favourites such as lavender and rosemary from just £2.99, with some outdoor plants also reduced by 20 per cent. Wilko is currently offering Verbena Festival Colours for just £3.99. These hardy little bloomers survive heatwaves and hosepipe bans, flourishing in hot, dry conditions, and will blossom in purple, red, and white all the way until October. They're also wildlife‑friendly, attracting butterflies and bees to your garden. Tesco is stocking Venus Fly Traps for £6.99. These carnivorous plants trap flies in their clam‑shaped leaves and are a natural, chemical‑free way to keep your garden insect‑free – plus, they make brilliant conversation starters
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- The Guardian
Panda Hybrid Bamboo mattress review: a stylish, supportive hybrid that keeps cool on balmy nights
I fear the Panda Hybrid Bamboo is playing games with me. When I first tried this mattress last year, it was among the firmest of all contenders in my mission to discover the best mattress. It was great-looking, easy to handle, and firm. Several months later, it's great-looking, easy to handle, and … soft? The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Not quite. But Panda's mattress is a fine example of what happens to memory foam after you've slept on it for a few months. The initially solid sleeping surface adapts to your body, becoming softer and cosier. My tests with weights reassured me that the mattress was still supportive and not sagging, but it definitely wasn't as firm as in those early weeks. Being a hybrid mattress, the Panda Hybrid Bamboo contains springs as well as foam, although I'm not sure you'd know it. Hybrids cover a huge range, and this one's very much at the 'feels like all-foam' end. Here, I'll explain why that makes it ideal for some sleepers – but not quite for me. View at Panda Bedding company Panda London sent me a double size Hybrid Bamboo mattress in autumn 2024. My husband, Alan, and I removed it from its bed-in-a-box wrapping and let it expand fully, then invited our family testing panel to mark out of 10 on firmness and comfort. We also ran lab-style experiments with heat pads, weights and wobbly cups of water to measure sinkage, motion isolation, heat retention and edge support. Alan and I slept on the Panda for a month in winter, then again during the much warmer nights of June. View at Panda The Hybrid Bamboo is the cheaper of the two mattresses made by Panda London. It comes in nine sizes, including 'small double', and costs from £649 (UK single) to £1,050 (EU emperor) via £799 for a UK double. Those prices are roughly mid-range for a bed-in-a-box hybrid, but they're much cheaper than Panda's other mattress, the 'orthopaedic grade' Hybrid Bamboo Pro, which costs from £950 to £1,750 and contains almost twice the number of springs. Like all hybrid mattresses, the Hybrid Bamboo contains pocket springs plus layers of memory foam of various densities. The individually wrapped pocket springs have a barrel-shaped design, which means they offer more pushback where your body needs it, according to Panda. The mattress contains 612 springs in its largest size, somewhat fewer than firmer rivals such as the Origin Hybrid Pro, which has 5,700 springs in a double. Foam layers include an open-cell 'BioCell' layer immediately beneath the surface, then a more dense 'DualFlex' layer further down. The mattress lives up to its name with infusions of bamboo in the fabric cover and open-cell foam. Panda claims this bamboo content is naturally antibacterial, moisture-wicking and deodorising, with the power to 'prevent the natural heat retention of memory foam'. The cream-coloured fabric cover is gorgeous, with a geometric pattern that looks almost art deco. You can unzip and remove the cover for washing in the machine when needed, but it comes off in one whole unit, like a shell. That makes it more tricky to zip back into place than most removable mattress covers. I managed it on my own, eventually. There are six layers in all, adding up to a depth of 25cm. That's a nice medium depth, offering a balance of robustness and easy manoeuvrability, plus a snug fit for standard fitted sheets. Carry handles are hidden away on the underside of the mattress. As with most hybrids, the Panda is one-sided (only one side is designed to be slept on), so you don't have to turn it. However, Panda recommends you rotate it 180 degrees every three to six months to prevent sagging. Panda describes the Hybrid Bamboo as 'medium firm' and gives it 6.5/10 for firmness. When it's newly expanded, it feels significantly firmer than that – but it softens to its advertised tension after being slept on for a few weeks. When my family testing panel rated the Hybrid Bamboo a week after unwrapping, it scored 8/10 for firmness and sank a maximum of 19mm under 7.5kg of weight. Six months later, including two months of being slept on, it scored 6.8/10 and sank 34mm. This is within the expected settlement rate for memory foam. You'll need to take advantage of Panda's 100-night free trial period before deciding whether this mattress is right for you. Type: hybridFirmness: advertised as medium firm, panel initially rated as 8/10, then 6.8/10Depth: 25cmCover: remove to wash at 30CTurn or rotate: rotate every six monthsTrial period: 100 nightsWarranty: 10 yearsOld mattress recycling: freeSustainability credentials: foam is CertiPur approved; polyester content is made from recycled ocean bottles; will recycle old mattress The Panda Hybrid Bamboo was delivered to my door in standard bed-in-a-box manner: it was shrink-wrapped in the factory and then transported in a big cardboard box. Panda's free shipping service promises more than most rivals, including delivery to any room of your choice and the removal of packaging. I opted to have the box left in my hallway. The Hybrid Bamboo took longer than average to expand to full size after unwrapping. Panda says to wait eight hours before lying on it, but I'd add at least two days to that. If you try sleeping on the mattress any sooner, it will feel soft and uneven, and the chemical 'off-gassing' smell is unlikely to help you snooze peacefully. I was too hard on the Panda at first, because it was too hard on me. Along with my family, I found its sleeping surface unforgiving, especially for those of us who are small and sleep on our sides. Six months later, including at least two months of being slept on, the Panda Hybrid Bamboo turned into a much cosier mattress whose growing softness didn't compromise its supportiveness. I'd initially allocated sleep-testing duties to my dad, Don. He's fit as a fiddle at 85 but found the Panda to be 'hard on my joints', so Alan and I stepped in for snoozing. We'd previously found our sleeping sweet spot on the firm Otty Original Hybrid, and welcomed the spongy but robust surface of the Panda Hybrid Bamboo. It felt too firm on the first night, but over the first few weeks of March, it yielded just enough for comfort when we slept on our sides, and we slept very well. Sign up to The Filter Get the best shopping advice from the Filter team straight to your inbox. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. after newsletter promotion As the weeks went by, Alan and I both noticed a distinct softening in the upper foam layer. I didn't mind this at first, because it felt consistent and natural, unlike the slight central sagging I'd noticed in the Simba Hybrid Pro. Our sleeping bodies made dents in the surface overnight, but it puffed back to flatness within a few hours and offered strong pushback when we lay down. The Hybrid Bamboo's motion isolation is excellent, perhaps thanks to its high memory foam content. There's no bounce to this mattress at all, so it does a great job of absorbing the movements of a restless partner – such as my husband and me. Foam can make you overheat at night, since it tends to hold on to the warmth of your sleeping body, but the Panda did well here. It performed above average in my heat-retention tests and felt cosy without making either of us clammy. We tested it in February and June under very different weather conditions, and despite its foamy feel, it didn't overheat us on the hot summer nights. I also like that its cover claims to be hypoallergenic, because on high pollen days (and nights), I need all the help I can get to curb my hay fever. It seems odd now that the Panda's firmness was its biggest initial flaw for my family testing panel. By the end of the two months, it felt too soft for me and my husband to sleep on comfortably, and perfect for my dad. Sorry, Dad, it's going to charity. The softening of the Hybrid Bamboo's upper layers is entirely to be expected, but it's a distinctive quality of memory foam that won't suit everyone. The spongy sensation can feel like you're being hugged by a giant marshmallow, with no room for air to move. I also found myself worrying that I wasn't being supported enough, and that affected my ability to sleep. I disliked the way the edge gave way beneath me when I got in and out of bed. When you sit on the side of the Hybrid Bamboo, it doesn't really support you at all. There's a frame of dense memory foam around the mattress's layers to help maintain its shape, but it just doesn't seem to have the intended effect. Panda's sustainability efforts are generally good. The bamboo it uses in mattresses and other products is grown organically 'without any fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides', and the polyester in its vaguely described 'durability layer' is made from 'recycled ocean bottles'. It also uses 100% biodegradable 'kraft paper' for its boxes, but there's no word on the composition of the metres of thick soft plastic used to shrink-wrap the mattress for delivery. Memory foam, made from high-viscosity polyurethane, is not a green material by any stretch. Panda does its best to limit the environmental impact of its foam, including CertiPur certification and donating bedding to young people transitioning out of homelessness. The company says it designs its mattresses to last many years to prevent them from ending up in landfill. When I asked Panda for more detail on this 'built to last' policy, it told me it randomly selects a few mattresses from its production line every six months for a 'rigorous laboratory durability test' in conditions that mimic the moisture fluctuations of a real bed. 'These stringent trials go far beyond standard industry checks,' Panda's Natalie Cannavo told me. 'They are integral to our quality assurance process and ensure that our 10-year guarantee is backed by evidence.' In keeping with this landfill-avoidance strategy, Panda offers cheaper recycling than its rivals. It also makes its mattresses easier and cheaper to recycle than its rivals. Most mattress companies ask a fair whack to dispose of your mattress responsibly (Origin charges £54, for example), but Panda does it for free if you're buying a mattress. If you're not, the service costs £50. Panda will donate your old mattress to charity if it's too good for recycling. Using this 'Circle of Life Initiative' even gets you 20% off your next Panda purchase. The Panda Hybrid Bamboo is a mid-price, mid-softness hybrid mattress whose cushioned surface provides good pressure relief for side sleepers and anyone who loves a cosy bed. Its springs are much less noticeable than its memory foam, which absorbs motion brilliantly and softens over time. On breathability, though, the Panda performs more like a pocket sprung mattress, so it may be a good choice if balmy nights drive you barmy. View at Panda Jane Hoskyn is a consumer journalist and WFH pioneer with three decades of experience in rearranging bookshelves and 'testing' coffee machines while deadlines loom. Her work has made her a low-key expert in all manner of consumables, from sports watches to solar panels. She would always rather be in the woods
