Designing a small garden on your balcony may take some effort and a lot of creativity, but the results are worthwhile. It gives you an opportunity to grow your greens even without a dedicated green-space in your home. Despite the limited space, you need not just confine yourself to flowers and herbs.
You can even have a full-fledged kitchen garden in the limited space with some right choices and relevant techniques. Here are some smart balcony-gardening ideas for homeowners who want to grow their greens in small homes.
Consider growing conditions
When it comes to planning your balcony garden, the layout is the biggest challenge. The available space is compact, so you need to see the area which gets adequate sunlight and air.
The typical temperature is also a point to consider because you wouldn’t the plants to scald or freeze. Also, you wouldn’t want them to be exposed to strong winds or heavy rain and snow. Identifying the right spots with ideal growing conditions is vital.
Pick the right plants
Once you plan the layout, the next step is to pick the right plants that best thrive in limited spaces. Herbs are a great option, so you can explore diverse variants like mint, thyme, rosemary, basil, dill, and parsley to create your herbal garden.
For flowers, the best choices include petunias, pansies, marigolds, begonias, and geraniums. Amazingly, you can also cultivate fruits and vegetables like strawberries, grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and carrots.
Invest in a greenhouse
If you are really serious about growing your food but are limited by space constraints, buying a small greenhouse is a great idea. Fortunately, you can explore South West Greenhouses to get one that is of a perfect size for the available space.
A mini greenhouse would surely fit in and protect your plants from the extremities of the weather. With some care and creativity, you can have a thriving farmhouse within this safe enclosure.
Think vertical
Since the floor space in balconies is limited, it gets hard to spread out the garden breadth-wise. Your best option is to think vertical and stack up your plants against a wall so that you can make the most of the available space.
There are diverse ideas you can consider. Stack small pots on a ladder shelf or install floating shelves on the wall. Installing railing planters is a good idea if you want to expand the garden outwards and get some additional growing space.
Take good care of your plants
After all the hard work of setting up your little green space on the balcony, you need to give it all the care and attention it deserves. Prune and water the greens regularly. Sticking to an organic mix is a good idea as it lets you get a home-fresh and healthy supply of fruits and vegetables. Pay attention to the placement of plants so that they need not struggle for survival.
Finally, get creative and add your personal touch with up-cycled containers for your greens. Plant in old jugs, mugs, cups, and kettles and you will soon have a place that you would want to flaunt.
