Balcony Gardening 101 - Beginners Tips

Balcony Gardening 101 - Beginners Tips
By Keith Markensen

If you live in an apartment with a balcony, and also love to garden, you'll be happy to know that it is very feasible to create a garden despite not having your own yard. Your garden won't be the same as a regular one, but a peaceful area can still be formed by adding plants to the area. The following guidelines will help to show you how you need to think of balcony gardening differently than a regular garden. The guidelines will help your garden be healthy and look great.

Think Safety

It is very important to find out how much weight it is possible for your balcony to hold. You should check with your landlord to make sure there are no restrictions against having a garden on your balcony. Without any setbacks, you can begin working on your garden after this initial safety phase.

Think Small

Since you only have a small area to work with, not an entire yard, you will need to be space conscious. When you are purchasing plants for your garden, make sure that the employee knows that the plant will be going in a balcony garden. They will be able to tell you which plants are best and which ones to avoid.

You will want to avoid plants that grow too big too quickly, for example. The plants will also be at least partially outdoors, so they should be able to handle potentially harsh elements. A good option is to use small Alpine plants on your balcony. They remain small, and are hardy plants.

You should also think of the aroma of the plants that you choose. The breeze will likely fill your home with the garden smells often, so you'll want to make sure that they are pleasant.

Besides choosing small plants, you can make the best use of space by adding hanging baskets. You will likely have to drill into the outside walls for this, so check to make sure that is allowed before drilling.

Because of the small space, you will not want to be working on your garden all the time. It can be a hassle to move around all the plants continuously. To avoid this, you can choose to plant perennials in decorative plant containers. They last longer, so you will have to replace plants less often.

Think Furniture

It is nice to be able to sit in your garden to enjoy it. With all of the plants though, how will you have comfortable space to do this? The best option is probably to have lightweight furniture that you can bring out only when you want to use it.

You should be able to fold and store the pieces when you do not wish to use them. If your balcony is very close to that of neighbors, you may want to add a screen for privacy, or you can rely on all of your plants to enclose your space.

Dressing up a small space like a balcony can be made easier with some decorative plant containers. There are lots of styles to choose from. Learn more about your plant container options at http://www.plant-care.com/decorative-containers.html

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