Those who love flowers and fauna do not necessarily need to be gardeners. They can enjoy their time with plants by creating a well-decorated garden on the balcony. And even if you are a hardcore gardener like me, the riot of colors in your balcony triggers a positive feel in the morning, which elevates the overall ambience of the sunny apartment.
But how do you do balcony planting, and what flowers should you select? If you have these burning questions in mind, you are at the right place.
In this blog, I elaborate on every ins and outs of flower gardening on your sunny apartment balcony. You can count this piece of literature as a guide to creating your own in-house space to escape from modern life’s hustle and bustle. Let’s start.
Benefits of Flower Gardening on Balcony
The following benefits of creating your sunny apartment’s balcony and a small garden will surely pressure you to start now!
- Undoubtedly, one of the prime benefits of a flower garden on your balcony is the enhancement of the apartment’s aesthetics.
- If you do not have a garden or live in a rural area with no scope for gardening, the garden on the balcony allows you to engage in physical activity, contributing to overall health.
- The balcony’s flower garden can boost your mind with positive and joyous feelings, giving you the power to fight against anxiety, depression, and stress.
- If you have the slightest enthusiasm for the plants but no such facility to showcase that, maintaining a balcony garden in your sunny apartment feeds your enthesitis.
- It allows you to connect with nature by fostering a sense of natural harmony and belonging.
- Most importantly, your flower garden on the balcony contributes to the biodiversity of the respective area.
- Lastly, if you are keen to become a gardener, starting with flower gardening on your sunny apartment’s balcony is a lucrative solution to develop your skills and expertise.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Flower Garden on the Sunny Apartment Balcony
Here, I list stepwise guidelines to help you create a flower garden on your apartment’s balcony.
Step 01: Select the Balcony
At the very first, you have to select which balcony in your house you want to convert into a flower garden. To select a suitable balcony, I suggest you consider the factors below.
- The balcony needs to be exposed to the sunlight during the day. At least a half day of sunlight exposure is necessary.
- It is better to select the roadside balcony of the sunny apartment as it will symbolize your taste of luxury and your preference to connect with nature.
- You must ensure that the balcony’s floor is sloped so that water does not remain on the balcony floor after watering the flower plants.
- The installed railing or parapet must be strong enough.
Step 02: Choosing Flowers
It is the crucial step that ensures the good look of your balcony garden. I suggest you consider selecting the plants as the plant size, shape, and height matter to distribute the space appropriately.
It is not advised to overburden the space with tons of flower plants. Use your creativity to create a nice color combination within the garden.
If you have zero knowledge regarding this, doing a small online research or visiting others’ balcony gardens can help you choose the plants.
However, the following is a brief list of the most popular flower plants for the sunny apartment’s balcony.
- Zinnia
- Verbena
- Lantana
- Portulaca
- Sunflowers
- Salvia
- Marigolds
- Geraniums
- Petunias
- Geraniums
- Portulaca
- Mandevilla
- Leadwort
- And many more.
Finally, it is better to go for a mix of annual and perennial flower plants so that the garden remains equipped with blooms throughout the year.
Step 03: Garden Layout and Structure Installation
After selecting the flower plants, you now have an idea of how much space each plant will take. Please remember that you must consider the mature size of the plants. Now, it is time to go for the balcony garden layout design.
Use pen and paper to form the layout. Also, add vertical structures and hanging facilities to accommodate more flower plants on your apartment balcony. Purchase the vertical and hanging assemblies from the market.
I want to inform you that several professionals and small businesses produce customized garden structures. By sharing the shapes, sizes, and heights along with your preferences, you can get the respective assemblies from them as well. Upon arranging the assemblies, fix those at appropriate spaces.
Step 04: Arrange Suitable Pots and Containers
So, everything in your sunny apartment’s balcony garden is arranged. Before starting planting, you have to choose suitable containers and pots.
In the container and pot selection, it is better if you consider the garden’s aesthetic as a whole. You should purchase pots and containers which are well designed and the coloring effects match the color composition of the flowers.
Additionally, if you have selected any flower that requires heavy watering, you must select containers with effective drainage facilities for this type of plant.
On top of all, I suggest you go for lightweight and easy-to-move pots and containers.
Step 05: Preparing Soil Mix
Now, you have to fill the arranged pots and containers with nutrient-saturated soil mix. I know in the urban area, you have no way to prepare the soil mix.
The solution is to purchase the soil mix from a reputed garden material seller in your locality. In this case, you have to ensure that the soil mix is equipped with adequate drainage property.
Also, instruct the seller to mix the slow-release fertilizer or organic compost. However, I strongly recommend that before purchasing the soil mix, ensure no strong odor in the soil; otherwise, the respective room or even the whole apartment will host a bad smell.
Step 06: Planting
In this step, fill the already arranged pots and containers with the respective soil mix. Be careful in the compaction process; do not go for over-compaction, as it will degrade the plant growth and bloom quality.
After the pots and containers are filled with the soil mix, start planting one by one. Do the planting work carefully and ensure the roots are as deep as they were in the nursery pots. Water the soil appropriately to facilitate settling.
Finally, place the pots and containers on the balcony floor, vertical assembly, and hangers. In this task, your creativity and imagination matter a lot as the story-telling capacity of the balcony’s flower garden can take the amazing feel sky high.
Step 07: Finishing
At last, your balcony flower garden is prepared. Now, observe the positioning of the assemblies and the containers from different angles to make the whole set-up perfect. Clean the balcony floor, wall, railing, etc., to make that dirt-free.
Maintenance Tips for Balcony Flower Garden
You must understand that creating the garden is not the final task, but you have to put effort and time into regular maintenance to get a picture view of the garden. Here are my personalized tips for maintaining your garden effectively.
- Analyze the water requirement of each plant. Then, develop a regular watering schedule in which you water the plants appropriately. The used water must be free from any impurities and toxication.
- You must ensure that the soil health is substantially good. Good soil health is essential to getting heavy blooms.
- Keep continuous monitoring of the plant’s growth. Address the issues like wilting, orientation of yellow leaves, pest infections, etc. If you have zero knowledge in this regard, a simple online research or expert consultation will help you to resolve these issues.
- Go for the deadhead process. In the process, your responsibility is to remove the dead buds, damaged foliage, old seed heads, etc., to encourage more healthy and frequent bloom.
- If you have planted climbing vines or vertical growing flowers, install support for them.
- Invite your fellow friends to get valuable suggestions and insights to improve the overall flower garden set-up.
Conclusion
You see, the flower gardening on your sunny apartment balcony is pretty easy. The garden can make you feel joyous and calm while increasing the overall aesthetic of the apartment. Following the stepwise guide and maintenance tips, you can create the in-house haven within no time.
When the bloom occurs, the garden will pay for your effort and time by showcasing your passion for beauty, preference for sustainability and commitment to import a more vibrant world.
