10 Balcony Gardening Tips

Keep It Low-Maintenance

Apartment dwellers may not have sweeping balconies, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use every inch of your space to create a beautiful garden. Just be sure you don’t initiate a major balcony gardening project that’s so much work that it cuts too deeply into your sitting back, relaxing and enjoying time. Invest in water-saving granules to increase the time between waterings. Some examples of resilient plants for your low-maintenance apartment balcony garden include:

• Coneflowers
• Yucca
• Hens and chicks
• Petunia
• Zinnia
• Daylily

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Garden Vertically

A wonderful option for making the most of your tiny balcony is vertical gardening. You can use stack planters, railing planters, vertical wall planters and hanging baskets for an amazing apartment balcony garden.

Bromeliads, ferns, begonias, hostas, succulents, air plants and vines all make for great vertical balcony gardening.

A wall pocket is another excellent idea for balcony gardening. You can incorporate various plant sizes, from spillers, fillers and thrillers without major commitment. If you change your mind about where you want the wall pocket, you can move it. Additionally, since each plant has its own container, the concern about companion planting is eliminated. This is a wonderful option for beginners to balcony gardening.

Hide Your Wall or Railing

If you love sitting outside on your balcony but can’t stand the lack of privacy, you can incorporate plants to hide your wall or railing. This will make your space more attractive and keep neighbors from peeking in. The best way to do this is to grow climbers like ivy, honeysuckle and jasmine; exotic vines like passion flower; or edible plants like gourds or beans in your apartment balcony garden.

Try Compost Tea

Compost tea is ideal for anyone living in an apartment who wants to compost but has nowhere to put their waste products. Rather than watering your plants, make the compost tea to quench your greenery’s thirst.

This makes your balcony gardening low-maintenance and your lifestyle recyclable! To make compost tea, you’ll need a 10-gallon bucket, an aquarium pump, good-quality compost, a water source, aeration and a compost catalyst (a mixture of nutrients that encourages the microorganisms to multiply).

After filling your bucket with water, dump the compost catalyst into it. You’ll then float your compost in a sachet similar to a tea strainer in the bucket and finally pump it to begin the brewing process. The air will pump through the compost tea for a full day until a frothy brew is achieved. Use the tea to spray on leaves or feed the soil.

Create a Succulent Bowl

If your balcony only has room for a small table, make it the focal point and create a succulent bowl bursting with color. The stylish display is low-maintenance, can incorporate various plants in a small space and needs very little watering. To create a succulent bowl, fill it with potting mix formulated for succulents.

Next, pick the centerpiece, which is usually a large, colorful plant. After setting it in place, plant the edges of the bowl by using a mix of succulents that complement each other for texture and color. Planting the succulents together creates a bountiful appearance rather than a crowded one. Any gaps can be sprinkled with gravel or aquarium stone.

Make an Herb Garden on Your Balcony

An herb garden is a fantastic choice for balcony gardening, especially in areas with limited space. Your herbs can double as a food source and a sleek green look. Thyme, rosemary, basil and sage are all excellent options for balcony gardening. So long as your apartment balcony garden gets six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day, you can grow many vegetables, too.

Many greens and some herbs need much less sun to survive and thrive in your balcony gardening project. You’ll save money and a trip to the grocery store when you need a sprinkle of rosemary on your roasted lamb.

Avoid Drainage Problems

A big concern for balcony gardeners is watering. The easiest solution for drainage issues is to put saucers, with a layer of pebbles, under the pots and make sure the pots have a hole in the bottom. This will help the container drain, which prevents the bottom of the pot from sitting in water. You can also use self-watering pots that ensure your plants are only fed when needed.

If you don’t have many plants in your apartment balcony garden, you can also bring them inside to water in the sink and drain freely. That will keep your garden area free from water and soil spills. Incorporating drought-tolerant plants is another great option, so go ahead and include those succulents!

Shelf Your Plants

If your balcony is small and you want to make the most of it, try installing shelves along the walls for additional uncrowded green space. The height of the plants will lead the eye upward, creating the illusion of a more spacious balcony.

Throw Shade on Your Balcony Garden

If you have a shady balcony, don’t be discouraged. You can make the most of your balcony facing north or east by growing plants that tolerate shade or grow in less sunlight, like astilbe hybrids, amethyst flower, begonia, copper plant, fancy-leafed caladium and garden hydrangea. Ferns also thrive in shady areas.

Light up Your Balcony Garden

South and west-facing balconies get full sunlight almost all day long. This means you should avoid plants like ferns that thrive in the shade and optimize greenery that loves direct sunlight. Some examples of plants that thrive in the sunshine include:

• Yarrow
• Shasta daisy
• Coreopsis
• Purple coneflower
• Blanket flower
• Russian sage
• Butterfly weed
• Lavender

FAQ

How do I know if my balcony gets enough sunlight?

Observe how many hours of direct sunlight your balcony receives each day and jot down the times it arrives and leaves. Ideally, you’ll receive at least four to six hours of sunlight to support most plant growth.

What type of soil is best for container gardening?

Use a lightweight, well-draining potting mix designed for container gardening, as it retains moisture while allowing excess water to drain easily.