Best artificial hanging baskets[UK]: Pick the top luxury artificial hanging baskets

We will start off with one of our strongest contenders and probably my pick for the best artificial hanging basket – the JustArtificial Silk Pansy hanging basket. Made by hand and to order, this basket guarantees high quality and good-looking flowers. One issue I encounter time and time again with hanging baskets is bad dispersion of flowers, meaning patchy colours, flat display and wonky hanging chains, but not with JustArtificial.

They take a slightly unconventional approach to hanging baskets by scrapping the idea of the basket altogether. This means that you are left with a glorious ball of flowers sprouting from all directions; otherwise known as a bundle of joy. You won’t get any boring browns with this product. They have a whole bunch of colour options (see what I did there?!), offering flowers in yellow, red, blue, pink and white, catering to all colour preferences (unless you’re into the goth scene).

Made from a sumptuous silk material, the flowers look as supple and soft as the real thing, so you’ll have to get up real close and personal to even notice that they are artificial. The basket is 30cm in diameter, with a chain of approximately 60cm in length which, for my money, is the perfect size. Not too garish, but big enough to draw the eye in.

But how does the JustArtificial hanging basket rank against our scrupulous questioning? Let’s find out…

Appearance

Let’s not beat around the flower bush – JustArtificial know how to make good looking flowers. With no basket, the emphasis is on the bloom, and we love it. They have the pansy down to a fine art, with dual-toned petals, realistic viny leaves and enough intensity of colour to trick a bee into pollination! The only downside to their devotion to aesthetics is the length of time production can take – you can’t rush perfection after all. Expect to wait between two and three weeks for delivery, as each hanging basket is made to order.

Price

If you’re looking for a luxury artificial hanging basket, then look no further. However, if you’re looking to achieve this on a small budget, then you might come a cropper with JustArtificial. The bill comes in at £48.50 for one basket; a pretty penny for many people, but arguably justified by the high-quality product.

Durability

The days may be getting longer and brighter, but we still live in England. Rain, wind and cold snaps are inevitable this summer, so your new artificial hanging basket will have to be sturdy enough to survive all conditions. JustArtificial’s hanging baskets are certainly wind-proof, with a strong and sturdy chain, able to survive even the blasts from the Beast from the East. Surprisingly, the main durability drawback comes from sunny weather, with a slight fading of the flowers’ colours noticed after a full season outside. I suggest taking your JustArtificial inside for a breather if sustained sunshine is predicted this summer, but let’s be honest – we should be so lucky.

Next up is another strong contender, this time from Smart Garden. They keep it old school, with an artificial wicker basket sporting cascading pansies and vine leaves. Perfect for spring, the yellows, purples and whites beautifully compliment the dark brown basket, supported by three robust, 18-inch galvanised chains.

The basket has a 30cm diameter and the entire product weighs in at 1.03kg, making it sturdy enough to withstand a fair amount of wind, but not so heavy that you’ll need an extra pair of hands to set it up.

What really sets the Smart Garden artificial hanging basket apart from its competitors is the UV-resistant coating covering the flowers. This means that no matter how glorious the weather, the Smart Garden basket should retain its original colours.
Furthermore, when compared with JustArtificial’s production time, Smart Garden’s product will be on your doorstep in the blink of an eye – perfect for last minute garden party preparations.

So far so good, but does Smart Garden’s artificial hanging basket survive the scrutiny of our categories?

Appearance

Big tick here. Personally, I’m a fan of the basket look. It makes the product look more realistic and adds a nice base colour from which the pansies are free to bloom and blossom. Furthermore, the basket is bursting with flowers, leaving no ugly bald patches and making the product look all the more real. The cascading vines perfectly mimic the real thing and ensure that the product doesn’t look too manicured; a problem often encountered with artificial garden decorations. And if that isn’t enough to win you over, the UV-resistant coating means that your flowers will look just as bright and cheery at the end of the summer. That’s what I call consistent quality.

Price

Coming in at nearly half the price of the JustArtificial hanging basket, you certainly get a lot more bang for your buck with Smart Garden’s flowers. They sit nicely within the typical price range for an artificial hanging basket, making them less of an investment and accessible to all sorts of budgets. One major advantage to more affordable hanging baskets is the fact that, more often than not, two baskets look better than one. If you really want to make a difference to your garden’s decoration, you’re going to want to buy as many hanging baskets as possible, to elevate multiple areas of your outdoor space. With Smart Garden, you could afford to have a couple of baskets out the back and a couple out the front, adding a lot of value with little cost.

Durability

The Smart Garden Artificial Hanging Basket earns most of its durability points from the aesthetic consistency. A simple coating of UV protection may not seem like a big deal but trust me – it is. It adds years onto the lifespan of the product and guarantees that the flowers retain their freshness for an extended amount of time, an important factor when considering the fact that the main purpose of this product is to look good. On another aesthetic note, the fullness of the flowers means that, even in the circumstance of losing a couple of petals in bad weather, you’ll still be left with a bountiful basket.

Moreover, the galvanised chain protects from rusting, which will come in handy when the weather inevitably turns bad. This means no snapping or snagging chains, no matter the weather. My only concern is the weight of the product. Essentially, the heavier the basket, the more wind-resistant and durable the product, and coming in at just over 1kg, I’m not sold that this basket would fare well in high winds. Furthermore, the fact that, unlike JustArtificial, Smart Garden’s Artificial Hanging baskets are not made to measure does put them at risk of the odd factory flaw, but I’m yet to experience this myself.

Our final contender comes from Home and Crafts, and once again takes a totally different approach to the artificial hanging basket game. Who knew there could be so much variation within the same product?! Unlike JustArtificial and Smart Garden, Home and Crafts’ hanging basket is more of a DIY project, coming in separate parts and requiring the buyer to build it themselves. I know what you are thinking – why should I build it myself when that’s exactly what I’m paying the manufacturer to do? I hear you.

However, the DIY nature of the Home and Crafts’ hanging basket means that you have total artistic control over the finished look of your basket. Plus, there is something fun about building something for yourself, and it’s a great way to put away a couple of minutes in lockdown.

So what will you receive if you order a Home and Crafts basket? On opening the box, you’ll find a wicker basket (with a 30cm diameter), a steel chain, and four bunches of artificial pansies in pink, yellow, red and purple. From there all you have to do is grab a handful of soil or some heavy stones to weigh the basket down and then get to the building! It’s different, but sometimes being different is a good thing.

But what about the product’s appearance, price and durability? Let’s find out…

Appearance

I would say that this product has one of the best appearances in the entire catalogue of luxury artificial hanging baskets. It’s the versatility for me; the ability to switch up the design of your flowers, either grouping the pansies in bunches of the same colour or mixing them all together to give the basket a more naturalistic look. If you want the flowers to sit higher, you simply need to add more filling, plus if you fancy chucking in some different variations of flowers, you the world is your oyster. You can pick up artificial flowers from most outdoor shops for a tuppence, and the fact that Home and Crafts’ flowers are not secured to the basket means that you have free reign on what you decide to add or take out. If you do choose to use all of the flowers that Home and Crafts provide (and we recommend you do), your basket will be bursting with bright colours and full flowers, with just a hint of green to offset the vibrancy of the petals.

Furthermore, the basket is actually made of a wicker material, and not a plastic rendition of wood. I think this gives the product a more finished and realistic look, veering clear from the tacky.

Price

Home and Crafts’ artificial hanging basket is the cheapest pansy basket we have come across, amounting to just £22.99, with free next day delivery for Amazon Prime members. This is a far cry from the JustArtificial basket, which now seems eye-wateringly expensive in contrast. I guess that’s the price you pay to have a product hand crafted for you, versus taking five minutes out of your day to construct it yourself.

However, whilst this product is super affordable and budget-friendly, it does not include the price of whatever padding you choose to add. Now, a couple of stones and a sprinkling of soil is hardly going to break the bank, but it is still worth considering. For example, if you were to buy this product as a gift for somebody else, check that they can also afford to fill it, otherwise it’s going to be left to collect dust in its box.

Durability

So, the product looks great and is wonderfully affordable, but does it stand the test of time? Interestingly, the answer to this is largely up to you. If you choose to fill the basket with a good collection of heavy stones (permitting the chains can handle it), then wind should not be a problem. As I said earlier, the heavier the basket, the better. So, if strong winds are forecast, it might be an idea to batten down the hatches by throwing in some slightly heavier objects.

On the flip side, you won’t have to worry when it comes to the durability of the flowers’ appearance. Home and Crafts have ensured that your flowers will never fade, by coating them in a similar UV protection used by Smart Garden. However, they trump the durability competition by adding an extra, super smart feature; water resistant pigment, guaranteeing the colour won’t run in the rain. It is clever preventative measures like this that really set this product ahead of its competitors.

So, there’s our top three luxury artificial hanging baskets, ranked from the highest to lowest cost, against their appearance, price and durability. In all honesty, you can’t really go wrong with any of these products. They are all made to last, come rain or shine and it goes without saying that they all look great, basket or no basket. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for, however in this case I wouldn’t necessarily say that the higher the price, the higher the quality of the product. There are plenty of impressive artificial hanging baskets which come in under the £30 mark, so I’m not totally sold on the inflated price of JustArtificial’s product. That said, each basket discussed fits a different need. If you have a slightly higher budget and want a super high-quality product with a range of colours to choose from, then go for JustArtificial. However, if you’re looking for an affordable artificial hanging basket which is perfect for spring, then Smart Garden’s product is the one for you. And finally, if you’re into the idea of a more DIY approach to hanging baskets, all the while on a budget, then Home and Crafts isn’t a bad choice.