Uncategorized

People have different choices when they want to build a balcony garden. For some people, they want a simple garden, while for others, they want a perfectly landscaped garden. Here are some tips that could help you decide on what type of garden you want and what you should plant in the garden based on various vital factors.

Budget

The first thing you will have to consider is budget. A simple garden will require less capital while maintaining the garden will also be less expensive. You do not want to spend a huge sum of money on your garden and then watch the garden die away because you do not have enough to maintain it. If your budget is low or your earnings are not high enough, it is important that you opt for a simple garden. A simple garden can still look very beautiful and elegant with proper planning in place. On the other hand, an expensive and complicated garden could also look very rough if some factors are not properly taken care of. It is not the cost or how complicated the garden looks, but it does take proper planning and effective garden maintenance.

Space

Your space goes a long way to determine how big or small your garden will be. Irrespective of the size of your space, it is possible to convert it into a productive green space. You can also take advantage of hanging plants by placing them on vertical spaces if your space is particularly small. With this, you will be able to use every available space as opposed to just using the ground spaces, which will contain very few plants and then the upper spaces are blank. Try to utilise every available space by creating trellises and piling up pots.

Heat

Heat is a very important factor as they affect different plants in different ways. You should, therefore, put into consideration how much heat your balcony gets. You should be sure of how many hours your space is exposed to direct sunlight. It is common for rooftops and balconies to get extremely hot during summer. This is, however, not the case with every type of balcony. The quantity of heat is important to your plants as some plants thrive in heat such as succulents. On the other hand, there are some plants that cannot endure extreme heat such as lettuces. You should thus look out for how much heat your balcony is exposed to and get only plants that can endure such heats. Alternatively, you could build walls and put in place other measures to reduce how much heat gets to the plants, if you want plants that require less quantity of heat.

Wind

Another factor you should look out for is how much wind your balcony gets. While there are some plants that thrive in wind, there are others that will curl up and die once they are exposed to excess wind. You should ensure that you get the right plants that can thrive based on the quantity of wind that your balcony is exposed to. Where there is too much wind and you want plants that do not thrive in wind, then you might want to opt for low pots that are very close to the ground. This will offer some level of protection to your plant so that the wind does not dry them up. You can also invest in self-watering pots, a drip irrigation system or water your plants frequently to reduce the effects of the wind on the plant.

The minimum temperature on your balcony

Considering how weather changes can be extreme in some areas, whereby the summer is extremely hot and the winter is extremely cold, it is important to know how cold your balcony can get. This is especially if you intend to allow your plant stay outside at every time of the year. If you have set up your garden during the summer when it was hot, the cold in the winter could negatively affect your plant, if they are plants that thrive the best during the summer. You should make sure that the plants will be able to bear those minimum temperatures or make arrangements to heat up the temperature during very cold seasons.

Time

It is important to create time for your garden and care for them. The more time you are able to give to your garden, the better they should thrive. Every type of plant you will want to have in your garden will require care, as long as they are not plastic plants. The plants must be fed and watered. It is also important to constantly monitor the progress of the plant and that the factors are right. There are plants that you might have to water several times a day. Even though there are a number of technologies that could ease such stress, like self-watering pots and drip irrigation systems, it does not mean that there is any way to escape not caring for your plants at all. It is thus important to start a garden, only when you know you have enough time for it. If you are very busy, you can invest in technologies that can help reduce the time and frequency you need to care for your plants. You should however, ensure that no matter what, you are able to check on your plants at least once a day.

Watering

Watering is not only important for your plant, but you must also get the watering right. The implication is that you cannot rush watering, like adding excess water because you don’t want to water for the next two to three days. On the contrary, it is important to ensure that you put just the right amount of water, with consideration to the weather. When the weather is hot or during summer, more watering will be required compared to when the weather is cold. Wind also dries up water and more watering will be needed for your plant in windy areas.