How does a summer surrounded by raspberry ripple, tutti frutti or lemon and lime sound?

Sarah Hodgkins of Meadow Days has created a whole range of hanging baskets to suit every taste. With a warm mixture of pinks in the raspberry ripple or the sharp citrus shades in the lemon and lime, or a mixed array in the tutti frutti, you can choose the perfect look for your house and garden.

Sarah's farmers' market stall supplies all kinds of bedding plants, basket plants, garden vegetable plants, perennials and shrubs.

"Hanging baskets are always popular at this time of year. We sell a huge variety of hanging baskets. We have all the favourite plants in at least 10 different colours so the possibilities are endless," said Sarah.

"We have some baskets themed by colour, some themed by plant and some are a mixture of plants, colours and shades for people who prefer a more cottage-garden look."

Sarah also makes a special drought-resistant hanging basket with plants that don't require as much watering.

"We will also refill customers' baskets if they bring their empty ones to us. We'll take them away and return them at the following month's market," she said.

Sarah has introduced some trays of kitchen garden plants this year - tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and courgettes.

Meadow Days is a family affair with Sarah's daughter Claire helping on the stall and son Ben helping with the growing. The plants are all grown in Sarah's garden at her home in Holt Heath, near Worcester.

Plants have always fascinated Sarah. She said: "I've always enjoyed growing things "I used to potter around the garden with my grandad and I always wanted to work with plants."

After studying at agricultural college and then at Pershore College, Sarah ran her own nursery before deciding to sell her plants at farmers' markets.

"When you buy products at a farmers' market you know you are buying from the person who actually grows it and that it is local. I like the interaction with people on the stall. The people are really interested in plants and gardening."

Meadow Days can be e-mailed at: meadow-days@hotmail.co.uk

TIPS FOR PLANTING HANGING BASKETS* Use a plant with some height for the middle, such as, begonia, geranium, or fuchsia.

* Suitable plants to go round the outside include ivy-leaved geraniums, nepeta, surfinias, bacopa, verbena.

* Use bizzie lizzies and lobelia as fillers'.

* To help with watering, mix in moisture retentive granules with the compost which swell up and absorb water.

GARDENING TIPS FOR HOT, DRY SUMMERS* Try growing plants which do not need much water, such as pelargoniums and gazania.

* Mulch flower beds to conserve moisture and keep down weeds.

* Plants adapt themselves to dry, hot conditions, so look for plants with small, narrow foliage, spines, hairs or succulent fat leaves which fill up with water and retain it.

* Drought-resistant perennials include: eryngium, sedum spectabile, artemesia, achillea and lavender.

WORCESTERSHIRE FARMERS' MARKET DATES THIS MONTH* Droitwich - Victoria Square - 9am-2pm, May 5 * Worcester - Royal Worcester - 10am-2pm, May 6 * Bromsgrove - High Street - 9am-5pm, May 12 * Malvern - Abbey Road - 9am-2pm, May 17 * Worcester - St Peter's Garden Centre, 9.30am-2pm, May 26 * Pershore - Broad Street - 10am-3pm, May 28 * Broadway - Village Green, 10am-3pm, May 7 * Asparagus Festival - The Fleece at Bretforton, May 28