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The situation is such that now many urban residents of the country cannot leave the city and visit their own country plots. And the reason is simple: taking care of the health of citizens, the administrations of many cities ask that we continue social distancing. There seems to be a country house, but you don’t want to put your family and friends there at risk. This is why we invite you to review our balcony plant ideas that you can enjoy this summer. Adding plants to your urban balcony is also a way out of the situation we are in. Even a few plants will improve your mood.
Balcony Plants – What plants should I care for on the urban balcony?
Plant flowers and shrubs on the balcony. The benefits are two outdoor exercises and the pleasure of what you have created. Of course, you can turn your own balcony into a flower paradise. A beautiful flower garden can be arranged on the most common balcony or even a window!
Now is the time to think: what flowers do you want to plant? What pots will they grow in?
When choosing pots and containers for planting flowers, carefully measure your balcony to know exactly how many pots you can place there. There is a little subtlety plus the metal pots look very elegant, but in the heat of summer your walls will be very hot, which is dangerous for the roots of the plants. Plastic containers have very thin walls and also get very hot in the summer heat. In addition, they can be deformed. The ideal solution are wooden pots. With proper use, they will serve you for many years. In addition, they do not deteriorate from the summer sun or winter frosts.
One of the main conditions for abundant flowering on your balcony is high-quality soil. Ready-to-use soil mixes, which are sold in a wide variety in stores, are quite applicable, especially due to their light weight – if you live on the upper floors, it is very likely to be very windy. So plant plants that have strong stems and dense flower heads. For this purpose, you can buy seedlings of marigolds and gelenium. But fluffy petunias, especially hanging varieties that will be blown on all sides by the winds, will have a hard time. At flower markets, vendors present a wide variety of all kinds of annuals and perennials to choose from. By competently composing a composition of flowers of different flowering periods, you (and the people passing by your balcony) can admire the flowering until autumn.
Balcony plants – What are the classics
Petunias, geraniums, pansies, lobelia, helenium, alissum, nasturtium, kobea, perennial clematis will feel great on balconies and terraces. In summer, you can put ficus, palm trees, chamedorea, yucca, indoor hibiscus, etc. on the balcony.What to plant on the balcony – every owner of an additional couple of square meters outside the window will certainly ask this question. It all depends on the conditions: observe how many hours the sun shines on the balcony, what wind it makes on your properties outside the windows. These observations and tips from landscape designer Maria Shumskoy will help you choose your planting material accurately.
Balcony plants – At high altitude
Above the fifth floor, on open balconies, as a rule, the wind dominates: it breaks the stems and overturns the light pots, and also dries the soil. Under these conditions, it is better to abandon ampelous plants. And fashionable standard trees on an open balcony, most likely, will feel uncomfortable. Low creeping plants are suitable: daisies, marigolds, begonia. It is good to place the plantings not in hanging boxes, but to place pots on the balcony floor, along the railing; at this level, the plants are partially protected from the wind. They will look spectacular in pelargonium, alissum, or pansy floor pots.
Balcony plants – growing in the shade
It is believed that on the balconies on the shady side it is more difficult to equip a flower garden. Usually, in such cases, it is recommended to do with decorative deciduous plants. Among them, first of all, vines: climbing honeysuckle, hops. Various ferns and asparagus tolerate shade well. But in fact, in the north or northeast, or just on a shady balcony, it is quite possible to create a flourishing corner. Balsamina, it will look beautiful. It can grow in the shade, for example, viola or lobelia; the latter will have to play, but the result is worth it. And fuchsia will look absolutely luxurious, a culture for which the bright sun is contraindicated.
Balcony Plants – East West
If you have the East or West balcony, rejoice. On such territory, you can create a complete miniature landscape project. Place a small tree or conifers in separate pots (the pots should be large and deep for better root development) Arrange a flower garden in hanging boxes, decorate the end wall with a liana and hang a couple of compositions of ampel. Look for New Interesting Plants – Try planting nolana, scovola, or diastia in place of your usual nasturtiums and begonias.
Balcony plants – Vegetable garden on the balcony
If the balcony area allows it, we would recommend planting raspberries. It gives a city apartment the feeling of a summer residence and is suitable even for places where there is little sun. Parsley can grow in partial shade, it looks good too. Also cabbage, it’s easy to grow and looks great. Also, both decorative and ordinary, and kale. And the most beautiful cabbage is broccoli, it looks like funny little roses.
City farmers begin to be more: if you are not interested in a flower garden, but a balcony garden, remember that vegetables, fruits and herbs are more comfortable to grow where there is a lot of light. The sun on the south side burns the plantations, but with the help of tall plants or vines, you can arrange a shade so that direct sunlight illuminates the plants for no more than 5 hours a day. The balconies to the east and west create good conditions for coriander, mint, basil, oregano, and sage (the latter also blooms wonderfully).
Fennel, salads, and parsley are best grown in the shade, so the north balcony is the best place for them. But pumpkins and tomatoes, like tangerine trees, need sun, and more. Attention: you can eat vegetables from the balcony garden only if the house is located at a considerable distance from cars. In other cases, it is better to grow decorative miniature varieties of vegetables.
Balcony Plants Annual or Perennial?
Some of the above plants will not be able to survive the winter on the balcony so they are temporary, but you can buy them again each year. But our advice is be sure to supplement temporary plants with which they can overwinter, then the garden will start to delight you sooner. These are, for example, larch, small birch trees (not dwarf, but ordinary). Larch and birch are trees that can overwinter in containers. You can also plant Potentilla, cotoneaster, also unpretentious.
Balcony plants Unpretentious or whimsical?
It all depends on how much time you are willing to spend in a garden with a balcony. If you want to create a flourishing corner, choose annual plants and buy ready-made seedlings. You can sow phlox, petunia, and nasturtium seeds in May. Perennials (all the same geranium, fuchsia, ageratum, bulbous plants), at first glance, are easier to grow: they bloom quickly, there is no need to play with seedlings every year. But, in fact, they can add worries: wintering, transplanting, harvesting, and feeding take time and knowledge.
If you don’t like gardening and need to relax surrounded by greenery, put some houseplants on the balcony and enjoy communing with nature. Your indoor gardener will likely wake up and spend a lot more time in the balcony garden.
Plant options for people who travel a lot
An irreplaceable and reliable plant is the virgin vineyard. Lives well in a large box and blushes beautifully in the fall. One option for the laziest is to bring indoor plants to the balcony and make an interesting composition of them. The main thing is not to forget to bring them back to the room with the appearance of frost.
Fashion plants?
We don’t think there are any trendy plants for the balcony. You only need to plant what you like, and then the plants will reciprocate and delight!
Trendy Balcony Plant Pots Are There?
There is a problem with the pots since they are many. The best thing to do is choose your favorites. You can also plant plants in wooden boxes or metal containers.
