What to plant in these planters hanging on fence panel?

Following helpful advice here on another thread on how best to hang two of these planter baskets on my fence panel, I now would like to plant something in them.

Currently, not much colour in the garden so thinking something colourful, easy to plant and maintain - maybe what you typically see in a hanging basket.
Where they are placed they will get a good amount of sun (when it shines here in Ireland). Happy enough that whatever is planted doesn’t need to survive through the Winter.

Any obvious suggestions and will a general compost do?
There is a plastic lining in the basket, I presume I should put a few small holes in the plastic lining to enable whatever is planted to breath and water to drain?

Thank you

 

Yes, it's a good idea to poke some holes in the plastic liner for drainage and to allow air to the roots.
A general purpose compost will be fine for whatever you plant.
Use fresh compost next year when replanting and for next year add about 20% John Innes No2 or No3 (or just some topsoil) - that will allow the compost to hold more water which is good for when it warms up.

Looking at what's around at the moment to plant in it, just have a look at what the supermarkets and garden centres are selling.
I see lots of small chrysanthemums about atm and they will work well for the rest of the season.
Cyclamen will flower through the winter too.
Both the chrysanths and cyclamen often come through the winter relatively unscathed where I live.

You don't want anything too tall in there, as the planters are near the top of the fence and winter winds can wreak havoc on your plants

 

I agree - a multi purpose compost will be fine if it's just annuals @NoviceGardener2023 , but a heftier mix in spring will be better for lasting htrough the season. There may not be a lot of plants available just now, unless you have GCs and DIY stores nearby that still keep stock. Our s'markets round here really have nothing worthwhile now. It also depends on how you feel about paying out for things that may not last very long.
Some cyclamen are hardy and others aren't, so you'd need to look for the hederifolium types which flower at this time of year and through autumn, sometimes winter too. C. coum are late winter into spring flowering, but you'd probably need to buy those online if you wanted them. The other type - C. persicum isn't reliably hardy, so you'd need to think about that one before buying, but they'd last a month or two. They're often the most common one seen in GCs etc.
You could also plan for next year though, and some trailing plants would be ideal, mixed with things like petunias and pelargoniums. I don't really do that type of trailing planting in containers, but others will know types to look for. If you get something suitable just now, you could add some of the small trailing, variegated ivies - just to tide you over till next year.
I'd agree that you may need to consider wind, so taller plants may not work. Nasturtiums will trail, and are easy from seed, but are mainly bright colours, so that's also something to think about. There is a creamy one - Milkmaid. I think I showed that in the pix I posted for you re hanging the containers. There's also darker red ones - Black Velvet and Tip Top Mahogany if you want something less 'in your face'. Both of those are nice.

 

Variegated Vinca Minor is evergreen trailer and flowers on and off throughout the year. It's draught and flood tolerant too. Perhaps something like that, topped up with small, seasonal plants?

Trailing Rosemary would look wonderful too, but is slow growing so it would either take a lot of plants or long time to start filling up.

Hide some small spring bulbs in there too, they are always welcome.

 

Erigeron (Mexican fleabane) would look lovely and is also highly likely to survive the winter too.

 

For a little bit of height and evergreen interest, add some Stipa tenuissima to your flowering perennials, happy in containers, low maintenance.

 

Thank you all, lots of helpful replies and while not familiar with most of what was mentioned I plan to look into it a bit more. The trailer suggestion is something I would never have thought of and sounds like it would be a great idea.

In the meantime, the OH who is not like me (I analyse everything that is suggested to the nth degree before making a a decision) wanted something in the planters before the weekend is out and went up to the nearest garden centre and purchased a few plants - I have attached the pics I took of her purchases when she got home with them.
A 6 pack of Cyclamen and 2 pansys and 2 viola.
I’m happy for her to plough on with said plants and fill a basket.

I will do more reading into the suggestions above before deciding on my next step.

 

They will be ideal. I would maybe add something trailing though as the planters are up high so it will soften the fence and add another dimension. The cyclamen should last and bring a bit of colour over Autumn and Winter as a bonus.

 

If you want something trailing and quick - just grab some ivy from somewhere and pop it in quite deep.
It's something I often do.
Often they will root and grow, but even if they don't, they'll last for several months.

PS - remember to deadhead the cyclamen to keep them flowering - same for pansies and violas

 

Thanks folks, I went to a garden centre close by just now and the person working there said all their trailing plants were gone now except for ivy. So, for the time being I picked up some ivy.
I may ring around a couple of places tomorrow to see do they have any trailing plants left - I liked the idea of the trailing rosemary and I also liked the look of the Erigeron (Mexican fleabane).

I may look to add the ivy to one end of the planter, although I did throw it on the window sill for now.

A couple of questions on adding the flowers/plants to the basket:

1. Should I use and transfer the soil the plants came in when transferring to the planter basket? Or just add my own mix? I have picked up some JI3 and regular compost too.

2. Should the soil be filled up as high as the top of the plastic lining in the pic?

3. How spread out should the panseys, cyclamen and viola be in the basket?

Thanks

 

I was wondering if it was too late to start some nasturtium seeds off? I planted a handful, transferred them to a hay rack type wall trough, and they’ve gone mad in quite a short time, some have trailed down to the floor.

 

Mix up some of the Ji and compost (about 25% JI and 75% compost - that will give an open texture so will drain easier over winter, which given where you live will be helpful ) and fill the baskets to about 75%
Then you can put the plants in leaving the compost that is around the roots in their pots, then top up with more of the mix until it's about 1" from the top.
Then give it a good watering, but don't saturate it. Don't forget holes in the bottom.
The compost will settle and you can top it up if you think it needs it. You can also pop in more plants if you see some you like.

I usually just grab some bits of ivy off a fence in the garden to get something trailing.
Plants are usually quite rammed in together in planters, but you don't want them too close in winter as the wet/damp will encourage mould.
They're going to grow a bit over the next couple of months, but then it will all slow down so they don't need too much space around them, but enough apart so they get good airflow - mould can be a problem in the cooler months.
Keep deadheading the flowers and they should go on over winter and into Spring.
They won't need feeding this year.
Look forward to seeing the end result

 

Firstly, thanks to everyone on the thread for all their guidance and in particular to @Pete8 with even more detailed information.

Yesterday evening, we got around to putting the flowers into the planter basket - I think we did it right for the most part. One of the planters may have an extra flower which may mean it’s a bit more packed.

One thing I hadn’t considered was the run off of soil onto the light coloured patio slabs below when I water the baskets - not ideal but not sure there is any way to avoid it - the other side of the garden the fence is over grass but it was this side of the garden which was more in need of colour.

How often should I water them? I know the ivy won’t need much water, but if it’s not going to rain for 48 hours, should I water them then?

Included a number of thumbnail pics below:

 

Looking good @NoviceGardener2023 and thanks for your appreciation!

There's not much you can do about the silt dripping on the slabs below. It will get much less as the compost settles. I use a hose to wash it off if it needs it.

As for watering - just stick a finger about 2" into the compost if it's dry then give it a water. If not it doesn't need watering atm.
Mine would need watering most days in the Summer as it faced almost due south and we get very little rain here and a lot of heat