A balcony buried in flowers is a long-standing European tradition that is gradually spreading throughout Russian cities. It allows you not only to refresh the facade, but also to create a corner where you can take a break from the hustle and bustle and enjoy the aromas and colors. Let's figure out how to place flowers on the balcony, what to consider when choosing and what type of landscaping to choose.
European realities Source staticflickr.com
Where to start: design principles
Turning a balcony into a romantic, blooming place is not difficult if you start not with choosing plants, but with clarifying the following points:
- What is the area and proportions of the balcony (loggia).
- Which side of the world does it face, how long does it remain in the shade, is there glazing.
- Number of storeys. The higher the balcony is located, the more extreme the conditions. Not all plants like strong winds and drafts.
Relaxation corner Source amazonaws.com
How to organize a winter garden on a loggia
Loggia landscaping is beautiful not only in summer. In winter, you can also have a beautiful green garden that will create the feeling of an everlasting spring. To create a winter garden you need very little:
- Heating. For normal plant life, a temperature of at least 20 degrees is required, so for a winter flower garden, buy a heater that will constantly work during the cold season. Avoid the appearance of cracks and drafts.
Important! You cannot use homemade heating structures, as this poses a fire risk.
- Humidity. Flowers consume moisture not only from the soil, but also from the air. Invest in a trouble-free humidification unit.
- Lighting. Additional lamps may be needed to help with long winter evenings.
The advantages of creating a winter garden:
- protection from rays on the sunny side;
- aesthetic appeal;
- the ability to grow spices;
- an opportunity to relax after work.
Design of small and large spaces
If you don't know how to decorate a balcony with potted flowers, start by assessing the available space. On a small balcony you will have to save space so that there is enough space not only for flowers, but also for you. A practical technique is horizontal landscaping along the balcony railings, which allows you to create visual volume. It can be implemented in the following ways:
- Flower boxes are mounted on railings close to each other or placed along the fence, resulting in a continuous line.
- The containers are not hung on the railings, but are fixed on the fence in a cascade, at several levels. If the fence is lattice, this can be done both inside and outside.
On a small balcony Source ogrodniktomek.pl
- On a miniature balcony, you can limit yourself to a container or a large pot of an unusual shape, complemented by assorted flowers.
- Vertical gardening will help save precious square meters.
On a large balcony or loggia there is room for your creative imagination to run wild. There is room here not only for garden flowers and herbs, but also for larger plants. True, if there is no glazing, then, starting from the 6-7th floor, it is better to refuse large views.
On the open loggia Source dobrzemieszkaj.pl
But there is enough space for shelving, various hanging structures and voluminous containers and pots in which perennials will be comfortable. Vertical gardening will also look beautiful, for which trellises are installed in the right places and guides are extended for the climbing hedge.
On a medium-sized balcony, the same design techniques are available, but adjusted for the available area. Light pots are hung on the railings, more compact stands are chosen, and on the floor it is most convenient to place flowers along the walls and parapet in one row.
On the middle balcony Source valent.pl
Some tips for making your own fasteners
It is best to make fastenings for balcony boxes from stainless or ordinary steel with a thickness of at least 3 mm. Before bending the steel strip into the required shape (for attaching boxes, the ideal shape would be a hook, with a slight curve at the top and a wide curve at the bottom), calculate in advance where it will be bent.
After all, if a steel strip is bent several times in one place, its strength will noticeably decrease. Additionally, for reliability, you can drill a hole in the upper part of the homemade hook, through which, using a screw, the mount can be fixed to the balcony railing. This will protect the entire structure from strong gusts of wind.
Well, the final touch in creating homemade mounts for balcony boxes will be painting the product. After all, in order for steel hooks to last as long as possible, despite exposure to weather conditions, they should be well treated with paint and varnish (preferably in several layers).
Illumination
Be sure to find out which side your balcony faces. The fact is that plants react to sunlight in different ways. One needs diffused light, another needs bright sun, and the third will wither if it is not reliably protected from even small doses of ultraviolet radiation. Knowing how certain flowers relate to sunbathing, you can choose the best plants for your conditions.
Scandinavian design Source wp.com
South orientation
In summer, daylight hours on the south side extend to 12 hours. For such conditions, they choose not just heat-loving, but unpretentious and drought-resistant flowers. Kalanchoe, sedum, hibiscus, azalea are ideal for colonization. They can be supplemented with bidens, nemesia, and nasturtium. A variety of cacti, succulents, purslane, heather and gerbera are also good choices.
Pink periwinkle and verbena, which has a delicate aroma, will successfully complement the collection. If you are planning to organize a hedge, you cannot do without picturesque climbing plants: fiery red beans, morning glory, sweet peas.
On the sunny side Source dobrzemieszkaj.pl
All of these plants thrive in direct sunlight, but in order for their development to be complete and their flowering to be abundant, regular watering will be required. Plants need to be watered in the morning or evening. It's also a good idea to stock up on screens or blinds to give your flowers a break on the hottest days.
On the south side you can plant wildflowers (chamomile, calendula), herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme). But if herbs grow in urban polluted air, it is better not to eat them.
Sedum Source pinimg.com
North orientation
Shade-tolerant flowers should be grown here: fern, periwinkle, mimulus, fuchsia, marigold. You can grow ivy and hosta in containers. Some sun-loving plants (for example, nasturtium) can also adapt to chronic lack of sun, but they will not bloom as well.
In the courtyard-well Source dobrzemieszkaj.pl
Orientation east and west
Here, the sun's rays delight the plants during partial daylight hours, mainly in the morning or evening hours, which suits most plants. Impatiens, violets, marigolds, begonias, petunias, pansies, and clematis will thrive in moderate light.
A good choice is geranium (pelargonium), known for its variety of shapes and colors.
If the area allows, the balcony composition can be supplemented with a tall plant, dracaena or palm tree. Species that do not like drafts and temperature changes, for example, Saintpaulia and gardenia, are planted on the glazed balcony.
Spring garden Source pinimg.com
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in landscape work of any complexity
Selecting colors for special conditions
Open balconies are suitable for decorating a summer composition. If the balcony is glazed and the winter temperature does not drop below +15°C, you can think about perennial plants for organizing a winter garden.
But, if you live on the 7th-8th floor and above, and there is no glazing, you should opt for colors that are resistant to wind and rain:
- Geranium, ivy, flax, begonia, snapdragon are not afraid of the wind.
- Calendula, hyacinth, and marigolds are unpretentious and resistant to rain.
Marigolds Source balkonyi.ru
Plants with beautiful leaves
Bright, lushly flowering plants are not the only way to create an attractive flower garden on the balcony; ideas for truly original compositions are rarely complete without plants with leaves of unusual shapes and colors. The following species are suitable for cultivation on the balcony:
- With exit to the north. Advantage can be safely given to ferns; The usual nephrolepis or any of the many adiantums (for example, Venus hair) will do. In conditions of lack of light, tradescantia, persistent sansevieria and ivy will take root well (just choose green, monochromatic forms).
Nephrolepis Source dom-elite.com
- On the south side. Various varieties of perilla will take root here (both green and burgundy, with pink veins), and an equally diverse range of coleus. An elegant dichondra (emerald and silver) and lush chlorophytum are suitable. An interesting color effect can be achieved by using Schmidt or Steller wormwood.
- In the east and west. Here you can plant the same variegated forms as on the south side, as well as dichondra and chlorophytum. A narrow balcony can be decorated with a long container with oxalis (oxalis); In its different varieties, the leaves are colored green, purple, and burgundy.
Coleus Source premierseedsdirect.com
Flowers for a balcony facing the sunny side
For a flower garden on a sunny balcony, sun-loving daisies are perfect,
gatsaniya,
phlox,
kobeya,
verbena,
gillyflowers,
calendula.
They love the sun: purslane, morning glory, mignonette, heliotrope (the name speaks for itself!), sweet peas, and decorative beans.
Plant viola (Pansy) in early May
and daisies, and your flower garden on the balcony will delight you with early flowering.
Agapanthus africa
and Indian canna, planted in large beautiful pots, will decorate your flower garden on a sunny balcony.
Plant color selection
Owners who strive to achieve a harmonious combination of colors on the balcony in their design, as a rule, are guided by their color palette. It is also important that they match in color not only with each other, but also with the design of the balcony. The easiest way to achieve harmony is with the following tips:
- The color of containers and flowerpots can be any, but plain containers in white, terracotta and green always look good.
- Plants should not blend into the decor of the balcony, but too much contrast is not always appropriate.
Symmetrical composition Source joey.on.ge
- The easiest way to choose plants is if the balcony is decorated in a white or natural palette - color combinations can be any. The same goes for the brick background.
- If the load-bearing wall has a more saturated shade, flowers can be selected either to match or in contrast to it; The main thing is that the containers are in harmony with the wall in color.
- A win-win combination is obtained by combining flowers of the same type, but of different shades. Plants of the same species, but of different varieties, will also look good.
One look, two colors Source depositphotos.com
How to beautifully decorate an interior in French style with your own hands?
A Provence-style balcony that does not have a closed area is useless for economic purposes, but decorating it with flowers is a pleasure.
It is convenient to place baskets with bright plantings on forged gratings, giving the façade of your home a fabulous look. Placing tubs, boxes or pots of flowers on a French balcony will not work, so the issue of choosing plants must be approached systematically.
Balcony containers for flowers can be of a wide variety of types: wall-mounted, floor-mounted, hanging, railing. But all of them must be carefully secured to the forged parts of the fence.
Photo
In the photo below you can see several design options for a French window:
Containers and accessories
Once the flowers have been chosen, you should think about their optimal arrangement. Specialty stores and garden centers offer a variety of containers for flowers. Containers and accessories are chosen based on your preferences and the characteristics of the balcony.
If its fencing is a lattice or balustrade, you can choose beautiful pots, flowerpots or baskets and safely place them on the floor. All types of flowers are planted in floor containers; hanging varieties look especially beautiful.
Modern design with containers Source miro.medium.com
Popular models of floor boxes and pots are made of ceramic and plastic; some plastic containers are equipped with wheels for ease of movement.
Elongated ceramic containers are suitable not only for planting flowers, but also for creating a mini-lawn. Moisture does not stagnate in a porous ceramic container, which has a beneficial effect on indoor and garden crops. Sometimes the surface of the ceramic imitates natural stone, so the container has an organic look in any composition.
Fastening on the inside Source roomble.com
Nasturtium
Popular and easy to care for, this annual plant blooms continuously throughout the summer. Modern varieties of nasturtiums have large flowers in a variety of warm shades: yellow, orange, coral, red and bright crimson. Regular nasturtiums look great in flower boxes and containers, but hanging varieties can make great vertical gardening by planting them in hanging baskets or letting them climb up supporting ropes.
This plant is simply propagated by seeds: you just need to select bags with the variety you like, sow them according to the instructions and wait for the sprouts to appear and flowering to begin very quickly.
Video description
About unpretentious annuals in the following video:
When deciding how to decorate a balcony with flowers and create an interesting composition, do not forget about the following accessories that help save space:
- Hanging baskets, wall planters. In order not to have problems with such items, it is enough to securely fasten them and hang them at eye level for easy watering.
- Canvas with pockets. An original wall flower holder for placing plants on the balcony. You can find it in the store or make it yourself, for which you will need a durable, air-permeable fabric (tarpaulin or canvas). The pockets must be able to support the weight of small pots.
Containers for every taste Source elle.pl
- Trellis. You can’t do without it if you want to plant climbing plants. Inexpensive trellises are made of plastic and wood, but you can also order an unusual forged version. The trellis doesn't save space since the containers remain on the floor, but a wall of greenery with flowers makes an impressive decor.
- Shelves for containers with flowers. You can also buy or make it yourself. Most likely, they will be made of wood, but sometimes you come across interesting options, for example, made of bamboo.
Stylish shelves made from drawers Source backend.elle.de
Care
Remember that it is better to plant varieties with the same requirements for moisture and soil composition in one container, this will make it easier to care for them. Choose containers with drainage holes, or make them yourself, lay a layer of drainage on the bottom and fill with flower soil.
Next, simply monitor the humidity level and periodically water the plants, not forgetting about timely feeding and removing wilted and yellowed leaves.
What and where: principles of planting
To create a beautiful balcony in flowers, you can rely on the general principles of planting:
- For balcony conditions, annuals are recommended. They can be sown as seeds, and the seedlings can be transferred to the ground. Another option is to buy ready-made seedlings, which is more profitable if they are sold with buds: you can determine what kind of flower it is.
Checkerboard Source 123rf.com
Briefly about the main thing
Luxurious balconies that attract the eye with lush colors are a privilege not only of old Europe. The floral assortment of garden stores allows you to decorate your balcony or loggia with all the colors of the rainbow. In order for the flower arrangement to look harmonious, when choosing plants it is necessary to take into account the size of the balcony space, number of floors and orientation to the cardinal points.
Selecting plants and containers according to the color palette, as well as using plants with beautiful leaves in the composition, helps to achieve a spectacular look. Depending on their appearance, flowers are placed on the floor or on railings, hung in flower pots or placed on shelves. To maintain a beautiful appearance, timely care, watering and fertilizing are important.
