A balcony garden can be your perfect oasis, allowing you to make the exterior of your home beautiful while you grow sustainable food items, such as herbs. Your balcony garden can be anything you want it to be, no matter why you’re creating it. Starting a home garden is easy, and if you use it to grow herbs and other edible plants, it can help you reduce your carbon footprint while giving you a place to relax after a long day.
Unfortunately, many people don’t know where to start when planning their balcony garden because they don’t have a ton of space. If you’ve always dreamed of having a garden, but you’ve never had any land to grow your garden, try starting a balcony garden to help you exercise your green thumb. Here’s how.
Check Your Lease
If you’re renting your home, your lease might have specific rules listed for what you can do with your balcony. For example, many landlords may allow you to only have a few plants to prevent any possible damage that can come to the balcony. Other landlords may require you to get permission before creating a garden because it might change the appearance of the apartments. Additionally, if your garden requires you to enhance your balcony in any way, you’ll need written permission from your landlord to make changes.
Consider the Sun
How much sunlight your balcony gets will determine the plants that will grow there because all plants require different amounts of sunlight. For example, if you want to grow a sustainable garden, you can grow vegetables only if your balcony gets full sun for at least six hours every day. If your balcony doesn’t get much sun and has partial shade, you’ll need to look for plants that can survive in the shade.
Any balcony can have a garden, no matter how sunny or shady, but you’ll need to do your research on different plants that can thrive there. Additionally, you should understand the weight restrictions of your balcony because pots and soil can get heavy if you have a lot of them. Ensure you plant things that can survive and thrive, while also being mindful of the things you actually enjoy eating so you don’t waste.
Design
Once you have an idea about the types of plants that will thrive on your balcony, you’ll need to start designing the space you have. It can be tempting to go all out and put plants all over the balcony, but this could be an eyesore for your neighbors. Additionally, using too much space can prevent you from being able to spend time in your balcony garden. If you want to be able to sit in your garden or let people and pets continue to use it, you might not want to have plants on the floor. Ensure that you keep in mind what things besides your garden you’ll want on your balcony. Do you enjoy reading during your free time? Maybe plan to have a chair and table for an outdoor reading nook. Do you love golf? Maybe keep room for a golf mat to work on your perfect put. Is exercise an essential part of your life? Consider adding an outdoor elliptical.
Luckily, there are many different types of containers to help you maximize the space you have. Large planters and pots can offer a large amount of space for any garden without taking up your entire balcony. To further save on space, you can start designing vertically and using your balcony’s walls. For example, you can affix light plants to the wall or attach pots to hang from gutters or a chair. Going vertical does come with downsides, though. For example, if it rains, the dirt can turn to mud and drip down the walls and anger your landlord.
Watering
When watering your plants, you’ll need to be careful not to spill water down into your neighbor’s balcony, which can cause wood rot or splash on any unsuspecting neighbors or guests. Over-watering plants can not only lead to harming your plants, its also a waste when you use too much water. You can put your plants on large trays to prevent dripping onto your neighbor’s balcony or try a catchment system for planters and ensure you aren’t overwatering. Either way, it’s important you’re mindful of what’s below you when watering your plants.
Wind
If you live somewhere windy, your pots and plants can get knocked over or down the balcony onto the pavement or ground below. You can secure your plants and pots to a stable structure, such as a piece of wood, or find heavy pots for all of your plants so the wind won’t knock them down. Additionally, wind can dehydrate plants, so you might need to use a thick mulch to prevent too much evaporation on windy days.
Wildlife
All gardens must contend with wildlife, such as birds. On a balcony, you’re typically safe from rabbits and other wild animals, but birds who perch near your home might be attracted to your plants. You can deter birds by limiting the room they have to roost or covering your soil with chicken wire. However, there might be no stopping the birds if your next-door neighbor has a bird feeder that attracts them. You can also plant certain species of plants to attract pollinators. For example, if you live in California, you can plant native milkweed to attract monarch butterflies.
Weather
If you live somewhere that gets harsh winters, you should prepare for winter as soon as possible by removing soil from ceramic pots to prevent freezing. Year-round plants should be planted close together, and their pots should be wrapped with an insulating material to keep your plants warm. Of course, if it snows on your plants and the weather drops too low too frequently, your plants will die, but they will come back every year. Plan ahead for the colder seasons, as you don’t want all your work on your balcony garden to go to waste.
Pets
Your balcony garden should be just as safe for your pets as it is for you. If you have a dog or cat, you should never plant anything on the balcony that could be potentially toxic to them. Of course, you can plant pet-friendly plants that you can use. For example, you can grow your own catnip to ease your cat’s anxiety or simply grow a grass spot for your dog to use as a potty so you don’t have to walk down flights of stairs five times a day to take them out.
Whatever you decide to do, your pet should be safe in your garden since many pets, especially dogs, like to nibble on plants outside. Do your research to ensure all of your plants are safe before you start planting them outside your home.
Final Thoughts
Starting a balcony garden is just as simple as starting any other garden. What’s most important is that you understand how much sun your balcony gets and which plants will thrive there. Once you know the types of plants you want, you can start shopping and planting. However, always be careful of what’s down below; you don’t want your neighbor to get wet when you’re watering your plants.
Julia Olivas
Julia Olivas graduated from San Francisco State University with her B.A. in Communication Studies. She is a contributing writer at 365businesstips.com where she loves sharing her passion for digital marketing and content creation. Outside of writing, she loves cooking, reading, making art, and her pup Ruby.