HAVING moved into my home five years ago, making-over the garden keeps moving down the list of things we want to do, but this year I have vowed to make it a place of prettiness.

However, that’s easier said than done and I often struggle to the find the time or knowledge to know what/when should be planted.

To give me a helping hand I was lucky enough to be invited along to Hillier Garden Centre in Weyhill to take part in their Spring Hanging Basket workshop.

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(Image: Newsquest) I was welcomed into a group with 12 others to craft hanging baskets or planted containers – I chose to create one of each.

The workshop started with a lovely introduction from the two Hillier experts who would guided us through the morning and helped us create what hopefully would be beautiful additions to our gardens.

We were first given a demonstration on how to make a hanging basket, and then it was our turn. It was so lovely to be able to pick the plants we wanted to include in our baskets.

Being a lover of pink, I gravitated towards vibrant pink flowers mixed with trailing plants, which will hopefully see little white flowers bloom on them.

The experts were on hand for any questions we had, whether that be ‘do I have enough moss in my basket?’ or ‘will I be able to keep this alive in my sunny garden?’.

I wasn’t sure to start with whether I would be able to make a beautiful looking hanging basket, but with advice from Hillier’s staff I was able to create something that I was proud of.

Halfway through the workshop, we stopped for a break, enjoying a delicious cream team in the garden centre’s café, where I chatted to other attendees.

It was interesting to hear from those who had previously taken part in other Hillier workshops, the variety of sessions available at the garden centre seems like there is something for everyone.

After the break we were all itching to get back to create our second design. Once again, the experts were with us every step of the way, firstly giving us a demonstration on how to fill our pots.

I immediately knew what I wanted to create. I have always loved the garden at the Dart Marina Hotel in Dartmouth, having visited on holidays for a gin and tonic, and wanted to create a little slice of that for my garden.

A tip was given to us to put polystyrene in the bottom of our pots so that our plants would not be sitting in water (if you remember to water your plants) – something that I will definitely be replicating as I make more pots for my garden.

Once again, we were able to pick out our plants for our pots, selecting a combination of upright, trailing and semi-trailing plants. Once our pots were created it was brilliant to be able to stand back and have a sense of pride and know ‘I created that’!

I had not appreciated just how much creativity can be involved in gardening. The workshop also opened my eyes to the mindfulness benefits of gardening and the enjoyment involved in the process of creating something beautiful and then watching it grow and flourish.

For more information about the workshops on offer at Hillier Garden Centres, go to hillier.co.uk.