Balcony Gardening 101

Don't let the fact that you live in an apartment keep you from enjoying gardening as a hobby. Balconies and patios provide the perfect little niche for a garden that can be a peaceful and beautiful place to relax and enjoy being outside. Balcony gardening is much different than traditional gardening with its own set of rules and guidelines to follow.

Safety Guidelines

First you must find out about any restrictions about gardening on balconies. Get information about how much weight the balcony is designed to hold before starting your balcony garden. Once you have a clear understanding on these things you can begin your balcony garden.

Space Restrictions

Before you buy anything speak to an expert at your local garden center to get some advice on how best to approach balcony gardening. A balcony is by its very nature a fairly small space, and one that you will want to take full advantage of when it comes to creating your garden.

Most likely any plants you use will be greatly exposed to the elements, so you will want hardy plants that can withstand these conditions without growing too large.  An arrangement of small Alpine plants can look particularly pleasing on a balcony. Since they remain small throughout their lifetime they are the perfect kind of plant for a balcony garden.

Hanging baskets are certainly a good way to enhance any balcony garden. It is important to remember that you will need to make sure your lease allows you to drill into the outside walls to attach them.  Balcony gardening is as much a challenge in the legal sense as it is in the gardening sense.

Perennials are a good choice for balcony gardening because they will endure through the winter and come back in the spring.  The restriction on space makes it awkward to continually replant your garden. Feeding and watering your plants are all the maintenance that you should need to do once you get the garden started.

Balcony Furniture

Lightweight furniture that can be folded away and stored is your best bet when creating a garden on your balcony.  A rustic screen can be put up to offer more privacy from your neighbors if you would like to.

Aroma Therapy

Finally, when choosing plants for your balcony make sure you smell their aroma before you buy them.  The breeze you’ll often get on a balcony means you’ll experience an amazing aroma from your balcony garden if you buy plants and flowers with a strong scent.