We all want a small slice of green to be able to call our own and create a lush, peaceful paradise that you can unwind in after a hard day’s work. Or simply spend the summer days enjoying your efforts from your carefully maintained garden. Not all homeowners or renters have free access to a garden of their own, but they might be lucky enough to have access to a balcony.
Even a small balcony can be transformed into a tranquil area for you to relax in, with plenty of invigorating green to help put you in a good mood. If you’ve got a balcony and are looking for inspiration to make it your own perfect private space, read on for our tips on creating a beautiful balcony garden.
Assessing the ‘Suitability’ of your Balcony
Before you rush out and start buying plants and pots for your balcony space, you will first need to consider how suitable your balcony space is for ensuring your plants get plenty of natural light. If you get direct sun, fantastic – make note of the time your balcony receives uninterrupted sunlight, as this will affect the type of plants you can use in your space.
If you don’t receive direct sunlight but your balcony is exposed to plenty of indirect light (with no intervening buildings or trees creating shade), you can still have a beautiful garden but you’ll have to choose plants that thrive in that type of light.
If your balcony is constantly in the shade, you’ll have a smaller selection of plants to choose from. That doesn’t mean you can’t create a beautiful green space! You’ll find a number of shade-loving plants at your local nursery or garden centre. You could also find inspiration through the use of artificial plants and grasses, like this guide to garden ideas. There are plenty of eco-friendly alternatives available with a growing movement to encourage only environmentally friendly artificial products. If you do choose artificial greenery, be sure to avoid harmful plastic materials.
Choosing your Plants
With the amount of sunlight considered, it’s time to look at the sorts of live greenery you can bring to your space. If you have a balcony that get’s plenty of sun, you might choose:
- Thyme
- Sage
- Rosemary
- Chive
- Jasmine (needs plenty of sun in exchange for a glorious evening scent)
- Cacti
- Succulents
- Zinnias
- Pelargoniums
- Coleus
A shady balcony would be better for:
- Calatheas
- Philodendrons
- Tender ferns
- Begonias
- Nicotiana
- Japanese Maples (Crippsii and Baldsmith are smaller varieties)
- Mint
- Parsley
There’s a wide variety of species that work great in smaller spaces, whether your balcony receives direct, indirect or little sunlight at all. You can find more inspiration here.
Make sure to choose plants that can live comfortably in a small pot with light-weight soil. You can add some additional mulch to the top to provide additional nutrients but you don’t want to add a huge amount of weight to your balcony.
Utilising the Space
When coming up with a plan for your balcony area, the key is to make sure you are efficiently using the space available. Not only can you make use of the floor space, but you can also utilise the vertical space your balcony has to offer and place things on various levels. This will make your balcony more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and provide you with additional space for storage if you wanted to make use of your balcony for more than just a peaceful afternoon.
Hanging plants with gorgeous trailing branches can be hung closer to the ceiling and grown out around storage units or draped across the backs of chairs/sofas. A repurposed wooden ladder can be used to place different potted plants at different levels and doesn’t occupy a huge amount of floor space, although you will probably want to secure both the ladder and the pots to prevent any accidents on a windy day.
Finish it Off with Some Warming Lights and Regular Maintenance
Wind some warm-white fairy lights into your trailing plants, decorate your ceiling with a net of warm-white LED lights or use some stake lights in your pots. Not only does this give your green space a magical feel but it can provide feelings of warmth, even if the wind is kicking up outside.
With your balcony garden completed, don’t forget to add to your list of chores, whether it’s giving it a thorough clean once a week or simply watering the plants every day. If you get a lot of sun and your balcony tends to heat up, or if you get a lot of wind on your balcony, you’ll need to keep the plants cool and water them more often.
Don’t rush, though: take your time, enjoy your space and make sure your plants get the hydration they need to continuing thriving.
Just because you don’t have access to a garden, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a green space of your own, whether it’s inside or out. Plants are not only good for the mind, helping us to feel relaxed and more at peace but are great for improving air quality. Next time you are out and about, treat yourself to a balcony plant and enjoy the benefits it can bring!
Feature image: Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie; Image 1: Michael Button
