With more and more studies showing that green space reduces stress, there’s no wonder that more and more people are transforming their balconies into gardens. That’s exactly what we did when we were renting our flat. Over a few months we turned our empty balcony into a dense garden full of beautiful flowers, vegetables and herbs.
In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to do in order to create your dream balcony garden.
Contents
Plan Your Balcony
Before you start buying plants, there are a few things that we’d recommend you look into to keep you and your plants happy in your space.
- Weight: Potted plants can be heavy, so it’s important to check how much weight your balcony can safely support so you don’t cause any damage. Balconies can normally support 70kg per m2, but we’d recommend you check this if you’re planning on buying any large plants.
- Sun: Different plants prefer different amounts of sunlight, so it’s important to know how much direct sunlight your balcony gets before you go shopping. See our guides for sun loving and shade loving plants if you’d like some help choosing plants for your balcony.
- Seating: No matter what size your balcony or terrace is, we’d highly recommend thinking about a seating area so that you can make the most of your space. For our balcony, we bought a low egg-chair set so that we could enjoy sitting on our balcony with our heads below the railings for added privacy.
- Privacy: If your balcony is overlooked, it might be worth thinking about how you can make your space more private. We’d recommend using a bamboo screening, tall bushy plants or hanging baskets to improve your space.
Choosing Plants
Next up is the exciting part – choosing your plants.
There are 3 main types of plants that you can grow on your balcony, flowers, greenery and fresh ingredients.
- Flowers bring lots of colour to your space, brightening up your balcony and helping bees and other pollinators. You can learn more about our favourite flowering plants that’ll come back year after year here.
- Greenery adds extra texture, shade and privacy to your outdoor space, so we’d highly recommend getting a few leafy plants for your balcony. If you’re looking for recommendations, have a look at our guide to shade loving balcony plants, which includes lots of leafy plants.
- If you’re into your cooking, or just want some fresh ingredients, then you’ll definitely want to grow herbs and vegetables, or even berries on your balcony.
While some people focus on one type of plant, we’d recommend choosing plants from all 3 areas to bring colour, shade and produce to your balcony.
Finding Your Containers
Now that you’ve chosen your plants, it’s time to put them in the right containers to help them grow.
If you’re looking for a rustic aesthetic, we’d recommend choosing terracotta pots as they look great with any style of pot. However, if weight or low maintenance planting is a concern, then we’d chose fibreglass planters, or grow bags as they are lighter and retain much more water.
If you’re anything like us then you’ll want to grow far more plants that you’re able to fit in conventional pots on the floor. That’s where it’s time to get creative by using hanging baskets, balcony railing planters and other vertical gardening containers to make the most of your space. You can get more inspiration about creative vertical gardening planters here.
If you’re looking for more guidance on choosing the right containers for your balcony, have a look at our complete guide by clicking here.
Conclusion
Now that the planning, buying and planting are complete, it’s time to relax and enjoy your new green outdoor space. While you’re relaxing, you might be interested to read about what new plants you can add to your balcony garden!
