A World Wonder

To commemorate the first days of spring, The Garden Corner, a unique garden center located in Tualatin, Ore., unveiled what is likely the world’s largest free-standing hanging basket. It tops off at 16 feet tall with a width of 10 feet. The basket alone weighs 2 tons. To put that in perspective, Oregon Zoo's resident elephant, Samudra, weighs just less than 2 tons.

The wrought iron hanging basket is locally manufactured by Don Sprague of Garden Gallery Iron Works (you can see smaller-scale creations at his store in the Woodburn Company Stores mall, Woodburn, Ore.).

The basket will be displayed at The Garden Corner year round. Stop by and take a look. Its contents will change with the seasons. Look for annuals and bulbs in the spring, cascading blooms mixed with edibles in the summer, and showy evergreens for winter interest all season long.

“Creating hanging baskets is our passion. It is our passion to create the smallest, largest, quirkiest, most exciting, most daring, most calming, and most personal hanging basket for every place and occasion imaginable...and unimaginable. The world’s largest is just an extension of ourselves,” says Jonn Karsseboom, The Garden Corner owner. “We have such a wonderful climate in the Pacific Northwest and it allows us to grow the most amazing plants in hanging baskets.”