How to Care for a Balcony Garden
Just because you don't have a yard doesn't mean you can't have a lush, colorful garden. If you have a balcony, you could have your very own paradise right outside your sliding glass doors. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Several long, rectangular planter boxes
- Plastic bottoms for the planter boxes
- Wired planter-holders and the attachments they come with (screws, etc)
- 2 bags of soil
- Trowel (for scooping the soil)
- Gardening gloves (for padding the soil)
- Watering can or large empty plastic bottles
- Plant food (such as Miracle Grow)
- Flowers inside small planters, or flower seeds
- A climbing vine of some sort planted in a large container + container bottom (optional)
- Small tree planted in a large container + container bottom (optional)
- Garden wire
- Sharp knife
Instructions
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Prepare the planter boxes. Poke holes through their bottoms to allow excess water to flow. A clogged planter will essentially "drown" your plants and kill them.
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2
If you're using flower seeds, fill each box with soil about 80 percent and place the seeds on top. Spread them evenly but not too close together. If you're using flowers in small planters, use the knife to gently cut them out of the plastic containers, without harming the roots. Try to keep the soil mold in tact. Place it inside the planter box and make it stand upright by pouring more soil around the edges to fill the gaps. Repeat this with as many small planter containers until your box cannot hold more. Do not crowd them.
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3
Attach the wired planter holders to the sides of your balcony and place your boxes in them once they are secure. The planter holders likely came with screws or an illustration. You can even place them on the edge of the balcony and tie them to a railing with garden wire. Each planter and balcony is different.
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Place potted small trees or vines, such as pink jasmine, against the wall of the balcony and make sure they receive enough sun. You can also buy wooden fence material to place behind your vines, which you'll be able to weave through it once they've grown.
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Top off all planter boxes and containers with more soil until their brim. This will ensure your plants have more room to grow their roots, which makes them more stable. The roots should not be seen above the surface.
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Water your new garden. Water your plants as often as instructed as some need to be watered daily. A good rule of thumb is to water plants when you feel the soil is beginning to dry--roughly three days.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to place different kinds of flowers inside one box, section off areas for each type and make sure the species are compatible (nurseries will provide this information, usually by providing labels). Add a sprinkling of plant food pellets. Top off the container with soil.
If you want your box planter flowers to grow beyond their container limits, plant flowers such as ivy geraniums. They grow fast and will look like a beautiful explosion of color right off your balcony.
People in warmer climates may need to water their plants more frequently.
Make sure your flowers are compatible with your climate and will meet their sun needs! If your balcony is not facing east or west, your flowers will not receive direct sun. If this is the case, it would be preferable to choose species that need partial shade.
Don't let your plants dry out--remove all dead leaves or blossoms if you see them.
Don't overwater your plants either.
