It appears that the association of commercial hanging baskets outside pubs, etc. goes back a long way.

In Roman times, ‘tabernae’, from which we derive the word ‘tavern’, would declare their presence with a bunch of leaves on a pole – officially, vine leaves, but one assumes they used anything similar they could get hold of in Roman Britain.

Because the pole and leaves loosely resembled a bush, that became one of the earliest pub names in the country – The Bush.

Extract from an article in The Scarborough Evening News on 28 Apr 2016

This early symbolic practice is probably at the heart of the dazzling displays of colour we often see outside some of the nicest pubs, cafes, restaurants and hotels today.

One of the most frequent answers we have come across to the question “Why do Pubs Restaurants and Hotels have commercial hanging baskets?” can be summarised as follows:

Beautiful Hanging Baskets provide colour and attract customers.

“It is a known fact that how a Pub, Restaurant or Hotel looks is a key decision factor in determining whether a potential customer WALKS IN or WALKS BY.”

– Is Your Pub Ready For Summer? by Greene King

Beautiful baskets, window boxes and exterior plant displays can instantly transform the front and back of your pub, making all the difference between a customer walking in or walking by.

Using a commercial supplier to install and maintain your hanging baskets for you leaves you free to concentrate on serving your customers. There’s no need to worry about remembering to water them or having to replant them each season and you can be sure that your outside spaces are beautiful not only through the summer but right through the whole year.

Here some of the benefits

• A great looking exterior can draw people into your premises
• No floor-space used so maximum number of customers can be achieved
• High-level plants and flowers have more visual impact
• Hide areas that really need redecorating/refurbishing
• Create a natural area to relax where customers stay longer
• Full maintenance means they look great all year round with no input from you

In an Interview with a retired Pub Owner who was asked why he put on such an extravagant display of flowers and plants, he said:

“It’s great for business. The regulars loved it. It caught the eye, got punters through the door. People noticed the flowers when they went by on the bus. Then they came back to check out the place. I can’t understand why all pubs don’t do it.”