Tips For Starting A Balcony Garden

Do you love just gazing at the greenery in the morning and enjoying the sunshine, or like having coffee while holding your favorite book surrounded by fragrances of flowers? Of Course, having your garden has a number of perks, or it can simply make your any day a good day, But if you’re a resident of any metropolitan city, it can be tough to find enough space to grow a garden. But it doesn’t mean you cannot have one; it’s just You’ll need to get creative with the limited outdoor space in your apartment balcony. Starting a balcony garden is a great idea.

If you have access to a balcony, rooftop,  or patio, you can grow a wide range of colorful flowers and vines in containers. A balcony garden is a microclimate that is different from the ground depending upon the amount of light, wind, and shaded area of the balcony.

A balcony garden can be as complicated or simple as you want. You can spend a small amount of money or thousands of bucks, or it can be low maintenance or high maintenance, or it can be minimal or busy. So starting a balcony garden depends on space, light, exposure, and the amount of time, energy, and money you want to spend.

So If you’re thinking about having your small garden on a balcony, a patio, or whatever nook is available to you, here are a few tips for starting a balcony garden that you can quickly implement at varying levels of investment to give your green thumb a try.

Why  Starting A Balcony Garden Is A Good Idea?

Just because you don’t have a backyard in your house doesn’t mean you have to be devoid of a garden. Starting a balcony garden, You can live in an apartment and still have the garden of your dreams.

There lies the joy of interacting with plants and also has health and environmental benefits. Few are some major reasons you should have a balcony garden.

Reasons For Starting A Balcony Garden

Working With Your Available Space

Even if you have a small space with proper design integration, you can create a beautiful garden. Being immersed in nature is better than just looking at concrete.

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Avoiding The Nature Deficit

According to a research report from the university, a natural deficit can be detrimental to our health and immune system. So if you’re spending a lot of time at home, interacting with nature is crucial.

You should go outdoors and get fresh air, especially now, and social distancing measures should not be misconstrued with nature isolation. You can either have an average balcony garden or a prolific one with many colorful flowers and food production.

Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash

Gardening Promotes Social Cohesion

Starting a Balcony garden can also contribute to developing community cohesion and interaction, especially when we have to maintain social distance and remain in isolation at home.

You can also promote open-air balcony-to-balcony interaction like in European countries. It can be a great way to reduce your stress and loneliness.

Environment Benefits Of Starting A Balcony Garden

Starting a balcony garden, you are helping in at least some capture of carbon dioxide, so again there’s a benefit, even if it’s at a tiny scale.

You can also contribute to biodiversity if you have a garden with different species because research has shown that bees and pollination, even on a balcony scale, are helping biodiversity and wildlife.

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Tips For Starting A Balcony Garden

1. Keep It Low-Maintenance

Starting a complicated balcony garden can create so much work that it cuts too deeply into your sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying time.

So, in the beginning, it’s best to create a basic design and cultivate water-saving low-maintenance plants. Some such plants are Petunia, Daylily, Zinnia, coneflowers, etc.

2. Garden Vertically

Vertical gardening is an excellent way to start a balcony garden, whether you have a tiny balcony or a spacious one. Stack planters, railing planters, vertical wall planters, and hanging baskets are available nowadays to make the most out of vertical gardening.

Few plants like ferns, begonias, hostas, succulents,  and vines create a stunning sight in vertical gardening.

A wall pocket is a simple idea for starting a balcony garden in vertical spaces.

Without much maintenance, you can quickly move them and use them with various plant sizes, from spillers, fillers, and thrillers.

 Image by  Maike und Björn Bröskamp on Pixabay.

3. Create A Succulent Bowl

A succulent bowl bursting with color placed on the table can be the focal point of your garden.

A succulent bowl makes a stylish and low-maintenance decor for starting a balcony garden. This setup can incorporate various plants in a small space and needs minimal watering.

The plant is usually a more extensive and colorful centerpiece. Plant a mixture of succulents that complement each other for texture and color in the edges. In the gaps, you can place gravel or aquarium stone.

Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash

4. Avoid Drainage Problems

One of the most challenging tasks for starting a balcony garden is managing soil and water spills and managing watering. Self-watering pots can be a one-stop solution for watering problems.

The most effective drainage solution is using saucers in a pot with a pebble layer and a hole in the bottom of the pot. If you have just a few plants, you can drain in the sink.

Including drought-tolerant succulents can be an excellent option to avoid watering problems.

5. Get Your Light Right Before Starting A Balcony Garden

It is essential to consider the hours of sun per day your balcony receives. Don’t forget to focus on indirect light.

If there is enough indirect light, starting a balcony garden would not be challenging. Few shade plants are English ivy, many types of ferns, Fuschia, peace lilies, and begonias.

Instead, you can plant plants like Grasses, succulents, morning glory vines, lavender, sage, mint, and basil for a balcony receiving enough sunlight.

6. Choosing The Right Plants

Before starting a balcony garden selecting the right plants is crucial. You don’t need to waste a lot of time on the plants that are not going to survive. Consider the amount of sunlight before deciding on plants.

Most flowers and vegetables will stay there if you have a south-facing balcony that gets sunlight. If the balcony is north facing or remains in the shade for most of the day, the options are low-light plants such as coleus, ferns, impatiens,  and begonias.

Some plants like chard, spinach, or lettuce can thrive with less than a half of Sun. Herbs have the culinary purpose of making great decor and thriving well in such lighting conditions.

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

7. Consider Wind Flow In Your Balcony

It may not sound significant issue but before starting a balcony garden, pay attention to the amount and direction of the wind in your balcony.  The higher you have your apartment, the chances that it will be windy.

However, be cautious of the extreme situation as drying winds can quickly dry your plants. So if you have a breezy balcony, then before starting the balcony garden, Get double-duty from a  wire trellis that can block prevailing winds while providing support for climbing vines, too.

Watering is also crucial so consider having self-watering plants with a windy balcony.

Photo by Artur Aleksanian on Unsplash

Conclusion

The critical concern is to take small things and begin with the basics. For example, self-watering pots, Succulents, and vertical gardening seem effective in almost all kinds of balcony gardens.

Start small and see how plants fit into your space and schedule; you can always keep adding more. Then, select and follow these individual tips or combine them, considering how much time, money, space, and commitment you want to invest in starting a balcony garden. Apart from these things, you should be ready to give some love and care to your plants, spend some time with them, and they will grow happily.