After living in a high rise apartment for almost three years, we were thrilled to get a house with a garden here in Kathmandu. The weather is warming up and the time has come to get outside and enjoy a little gardening. Our wire hanging baskets floated uselessly around the Manila apartment, but here they were ready for Spring! There’s no gardening centre here, so we needed to find all the components independently: chains for hanging, compost, seedlings and something to line the baskets. For the last part we decided to use jute, the hair from the outside of coconuts which a local store sold by the kilo. A lot of basket liners in places like Home Depot sell liners made from jute, but they are already pressed and pre-shaped. I would have to start from scratch.

A sack of jute, or coconut hair.

Five wire baskets ready to start

First step is to make thick, birds nest-like bases for the baskets by shaping the jute into thick layers

Then the nest are filled in with compost and the side plants are laid down along the edges. We used miniature pansies and allysium so they would make wonderful trailing bases for the baskets.

Next continue building up a wall of jute and fill the basket to the top with dirt. Plant. Looking good!

Our TDY cat, “Pickles” (or temporary feline visitor for non-FS types)….giving us a hand

The finished basket. Now to watch them grow…..