Nothing can beat the joy of sipping coffee in a nice and tastefully decorated balcony garden!
While many people plan to add contemporary elements to their balcony, others love to create a solace zone and design a lovely balcony garden. They spend hours in choosing the best plants and pots so as to create a cozy corner of their own. Further, the fragrant smell of flowers and those tiny cute butterflies add more charm to the entire look and feel of the home.
All that being said, let us see which plants you can include to create a vivid-looking beautiful balcony garden.
Beautiful and Decorative Plants for Your Balcony
Sweet Alyssum
Alyssum flowers are wonderful annuals that have particular, delicate, sweet, and scented blooms. These beautiful flowers are the favorite of the pollinators. You can keep them in hanging baskets or down the sides of planters to let them stand out.
Note: it requires sun but can also grow well under some shade.Â
Mandevilla
Mandevilla is a tropical climber that grows and thrives in heat. This plant can be seen in a variety of colors including pink or red that grows upright. In cold climates, you can bring it indoors (though it tends to shed leaves with lower light levels).
Note: Mandevilla needs mostly sun, but shields it from hot afternoon sun in warm climates.
Lavender
Beautiful, purple lavender is a BIG YES when it comes to balcony plants. These perennials bloom for a long time as well as provide you a wonderful scent that goes all around your house. It is the number one choice to decorate a balcony.
Note: This plant requires full sun.
Fuchsia
These amazing annuals can be found in different colors including pink, red, purple, or a mixture of colors. You can keep it in hanging baskets or boxes in the windows for the best view. Also, you will get to see a lot of butterflies and hummingbirds to adore this plant.
Note: This plant requires full shade.
Caladium
Caladium has elegant heart-shaped leaves along with lime green or hot pink or red markings. Unlike other flowers, caladiums range in height from about 10 inches tall to 2 feet tall, which is why it’s important to read the label first so you give it a pot that’s large enough for it to spread out.
Note: It needs part shade to shade.
New Guinea Impatiens
With cherry shades ranging from peach to hot pink, New Guinea impatiens are a great choice for long-season color. These annuals tend to do best in pots, rather than in hanging baskets, which are difficult to keep water in the heat of summer.
Note: These need part shade to shade.
Lobelia
When you decorate the balcony a low-growing white, purple, or blue lobelia looks amazing cascading from containers or baskets. It blooms best before nighttime temperatures get too warm. If the plant stops flowering, trim it back and it’ll rebound when cool weather returns.
Note: Lobelia is best suited for morning sun and afternoon shade, but it will also do okay in mostly shade.
Hibiscus
We don’t think that your balcony garden is complete without a hibiscus in it. The exotic blooms and rich colors of hibiscus make a beautiful addition to a balcony garden. Read the label to make sure you’re giving them plenty of space, as some varieties become quite large.
Note: Some can be overwintered indoors, though it’s a bit tricky because they need full sun.
Torenia
Best known as the wishbone flower, this is found in a wonderful white, purple, or two-tone combination that resembles a snapdragon. These trailing annuals last from spring to fall, and hummingbirds love them.
Note: They need shade or part sun.
Roses
Evergreen plants which will never go out of style. Roses are easier to grow and beautiful to watch. You can go for many types of roses to decorate the balcony including a miniature variety or a shrub rose depending on your balcony.
Note: Make sure it gets at least six hours of sun for best blooms.
Herbs
What’s better than having some homegrown herbs on your balcony? These are completely low maintenance and give you ease of cooking.
Note: If you have full sun, choose basil and rosemary. For part sun, cilantro and chives are good choices. Herbs need the sun to shade, depending on the type.
Hydrangea
There’s no reason you can’t grow these stunning shrubs in pots on your balcony. Look for dwarf varieties, and make sure to choose a large pot made from a material that won’t freeze and crack in cold climates.
Note: The climatic conditions depend highly on the variety. Some varieties tolerate more sun than others, so read the plant tag. Hydrangeas need the part sun to shade.
Heuchera
This rare perennial is also called coral bells. It has striking leaf colors in every shade, from the deepest reds to lime green to pale coral. The small flower spikes are not flashy, but the plant is striking and does surprisingly well in pots.
Note: Heuchera needs sun or shade.
Pansies and Violas for Colorful Balcony Garden
Pansies and violas with their bright colors ranging from deep purple to oranges and yellows will make you smile. They prefer cooler temperatures, so plant these in spring and they’ll last until it gets super-hot. They also may rebound in fall if you trim the spent flowers back and keep them shaded until cooler temperatures return.
Note: They need mostly sun.
Lettuce
Grow some fresh lettuce right on a sunny balcony and cook whenever ready. There are hundreds of varieties, they’re easy to grow, and you need only a window box or two (their roots are shallow). Keep it moist while it’s sprouting, and trim (don’t pull!) the pieces off as they mature. It will produce until super-hot weather arrives.
Note: Lettuce needs mostly sun.
Marigold
No Indian garden can do without a marigold. It is an ideal balcony plant as it does not need high maintenance. It is bright and has pest resistance capacity. Also, these look super fresh and beautiful among your other planters.
Note: They are good for warm climates.
So, you are done with selecting your plants. Now, it is time to decorate the balcony with them. You might have a lot of ideas with you but still, be confused as to how to put it together. Well, we are here to guide you. Let’s see what you can do
Decorating Ideas to Create an Inviting Balcony Garden
When it comes to including plants on a balcony, you can select from flowers to veggies to even succulents because there’s no rule. However, you need to take extra attention to selecting the type of plant. The most important factor is sunlight. Pay heed to the amount of sunlight received by your balcony during different hours of the day.
For instance, the full sun stands for six or more hours of direct sunlight. Also, some balconies might be fully shaded. Hence, make sure to read the instructions mentioned on the plant label so that you will know the lighting conditions.
The second thing to consider here is the pots. Be aware that containers or pots made of porous materials, such as terra cotta or coco fiber, dry out fast because water evaporates from them quickly. Pots or containers made of less permeable materials, such as plastic or metal, dry out more slowly. Poke your finger in the pot to feel the soil moisture level; if it feels wet, hold off. If it’s bone dry and the soil is pulling away from the sides of the pot, give your plant a good drink.
- Rather than tiles, use a simple floor and rug on it, use artificial green carpet or turf rug imitating the lawn. You can also use wooden tiles for a better look, this will give a beautiful look to your balcony.
- Along the railings install a shelf or hanging flower boxes outside to generate more space.
- On the balcony floor, use decorative pots and hanging baskets. You can grow flowers, herbs, and even tomatoes in hanging baskets and make a lovely-looking balcony garden.
- Place a small table with two chairs, so that on warm and favorable days, you can enjoy the fresh air with your morning coffee or tea.
- Create a small structure for support or buy a trellis for climbing plants. You can do it with wooden slats, or bent steel rods.
- If possible, arrange an old shelf so that you can keep your pots on it, this will also create a lot of space.
- Ensure adequate lighting for the night. In whatever color you like. Grow some night-scented flowering plants like nicotiana, stock, or night-blooming jasmine too for fragrance.
What are you waiting for? Get, set, go, and decorate the balcony garden for your home. Also, let us know how it turned out. Stay tuned with us for more interesting ideas.
Feature image credits- Photo by GarryKillian on Freepik!
