Container Gardening

The scope for creating beautiful displays on a balcony is huge. However, if your designs are to prove successful, it is important to take a number of practical considerations into account when planning the planting.

Most balconies are subjected to extreme weather conditions and in particular to strong gusts of wind and heavy shading from above. The precise conditions on your balcony will have a profound effect on your planting plans.

In addition, the weight of the plants, together with their containers and soil mix, is an important factor to consider. Before you get stared, find out how much weight the balcony can safely support, and don’t allow your imagination to exceed this limit. If you are at all unsure about its strength or safety, have the balcony examined by a qualified contractor to satisfy yourself that you are creating a lasting, legal, and safe garden.

If you need to put down new flooring, choose materials that are weather resistant and as light as possible. Good quality pressure treated lumber decking is one popular option, since it is attractive, affordable, and makes a very pleasant surface to sit on.

Making The Most Of Your Space

Space on most balconies is at a premium, so it is sensible to try to make the best possible use of every available surface.

If your balcony is very windswept, the first thing to do is erect a good quality screen or trellis to act as a windbreak. The more sheltered conditions this will create allow you to grow a wider range of plants and makes the balcony a more enjoyable place in which to sit. In addition, the windbreak, as well as the alls and railings around a balcony, can be fitted with a trellis or training wires to created a new growing surface - invaluable in a confined area. Cover vertical surfaces with wall shrubs and vigorous climbers, such as the cup-and-saucer vine (Cobaeo scandens) morning glory ( pomoea purpurea, and Convolvulus tricolor. Remember to check that the exposure will suit your plants, and on windy surfaces grow only climbers, such as the golden hop, that are resistant to wind scorch. Pots and handing baskets can also be used to increase the vertical planting area.

Make the most of horizontal surfaces with an array of containers planted with perennials, or maybe small trees such as Japanese maples, chosen for year round interest. Supplement the skeleton planting with a selection of annuals and bulbs.

Containers For Balconies

Choose your containers with care, wherever possible selecting lightweight examples make from plastic or fiberglass to keep the weight on the balcony to a minimum – after all, the less your containers weigh, the more plants (and soil mix) you can use. There are many attractive containers available that are made from these materials including some excellent imitations of terracotta.

If you have a limited budget, even cheap plastic pots or similar containers can still look quite good, especially if they are camouflaged by cleaver planting with a selection of trailing plants. Choose containers to suit individual plants, and bear in mind that some taller plants may need a reasonably heavy base to provide a counterbalance in windy conditions.

Arranging Containers For Effect

Even a single container can be displayed to great effect, but arranging several assorted Containers in a group opens up many new possibilities. Maximize the options open to you with a selection of plants of differing heights growing in containers of varying shape an size.

Group containers of taller plants at the back, with smaller ones close to the front to create a solid bank of color. Arrange tall or bushy plants to provide shade for smaller ones that would scorch in full sun, use topiary shapes to add a touch of formality, or place large specimen plants on either side of the balcony doors to create an impressive entrance. With a little trial and error, you will find that a garden in miniature is both easy to establish and satisfying to arrange.

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