HANGING baskets are a sure-fire way of adding a mass of colour and texture to the outside of your home - but what if your patio is north-facing? How are you going to make a dull shady area sizzle with colour?

Many gardeners avoid placing hanging baskets in shade, but there are some plants that will do well without direct sun and still provide a splash of colour where it is needed.

The most obvious bedding plants which can withstand shade are Busy Lizzies, which you can plant successfully in wire hanging baskets, planted not just on the surface of the basket but also in slits in the liner around the sides.

Trailing varieties of Busy Lizzies including Spellbound are now available to provide your shady spot with a ball of colour all summer.

Alternatively, if you want an ideal specimen in the centre of your basket. go for one of the New Guinea Busy Lizzies, which are larger and more leafy but produce fantastic blooms in a wealth of colours.

But while most bedding requires some direct sunlight, you can create wonderful hanging baskets from plants which provide contrasting foliage and texture.

Mix leafy plants including begonias and hostas with spiky grasses and flowing ferns for an eyecatching contrast. There are some fuchsias which will do well in the shade, including F Eva Boerg, whose trailing stems of deep rosecoloured flowers cascade beautifully over a large pot, or the popular Swingtime, which is ideal for a hanging basket, producing large red and white flowers.

Some heuchera are also perfect for adding dramatic leaf contrast to a basket. H Color Dream, for instance, has scalloped leaves patterned with purple and in the summer the leaves develop a red edge. It likes some cool shade and its silvery sheen adds lustre to a dull scene.

One of my hanging baskets is in shade at the front of my house, and I find that bacopa works well as a trailing filler, its white flowers contrasting well with the daisylike lilac flowers of brachyscome.

Whatever you choose, remember that hanging baskets can dry out easily in shade, just as they do in sun. Make sure when planting that you add water-retaining granules and slow-release fertiliser to the compost and choose a liner that's going to retain the moisture well, such as an old woolly jumper. While moss looks natural, it doesn't do much for retaining water.

There have been times when I've just used polythene, with holes cut around the sides for drainage but not at the bottom. It doesn't look pretty at first, but once the plants have taken hold, you can't see it anyway. You will still find that in the height of summer you may have to water the basket on a daily basis, whether in sun or shade.

For the moment, plant up the baskets by balancing the basket on top of a bucket, so you can move the basket around and plant up the sides without it toppling and damaging the plants. Planted baskets will need to be brought inside during cold snaps and at night until all danger of frost has passed.

Jobs this week

❃ Cut back hardy fuchsias to just above soil level as strong new basal growth appears.

❃ Plant tomatoes to grow in a cool greenhouse, training them up tall canes or strings.