A balcony on which summer sports equipment is stored, or a balcony on which there is nothing, is an equally boring sight. It’s another matter if there is a whole garden on the balcony, and the leaves of the plants cast bizarre shadows on the walls of the room. Creating such a garden is not at all difficult. You will need a small set of gardening equipment and fifteen minutes a day for care. Irina Selishcheva, head of the “Garden” sector of one of the Leroy Merlin hypermarkets, tells how to create an organic garden on the balcony.
Choosing plants for the garden
Caring for a garden will not take much time if it contains plant species that are suitable for our climate.
For a garden on the balcony, you should choose flowers that feel great even in a summer house, where it can be cold at night and it is not always possible to water the plants on time. Tulips, lilies of the valley, daffodils, violets, geraniums, aquilegia - all these flowers grow in open ground and do not require additional care on the balcony. If you want to plant vegetables and fruits in the garden and you don't have much experience, start with lettuce, carrots and radishes. These plants grow well in small trays, require little care, and germinate and produce quickly.
Selecting soil for plants
In an organic garden, plants are not fertilized, so your success depends on the quality of the soil.You need soil with a lot of nutritious organic matter, so the ideal choice is compost, which you can make yourself at your dacha from mown grass. However, if you do not have a dacha, you can buy organic soil in the store.
Packaged soil can be universal or intended for one type of plant. Your choice will depend on the flowers and vegetables that you plan to grow. Universal biosoils for flowers are an excellent nutrient medium in which both flowers and vegetable seedlings will feel great. Such soils are produced on the basis of natural material, so they are great for an organic garden. When choosing soil in the store, read the description to make sure that the soil is suitable for growing indoor plants.
Buy modules for vertical placement of plants
The main feature of a balcony is that the area of the walls on it is larger than the floor area. Therefore, the main dimension in your garden high above the ground will be the vertical. Vertical planning has many advantages. By arranging the garden vertically, you can place a lot of plants and leave room for a couple of wicker chairs, in which you can sit comfortably with a friend among the greenery.
Modules with wall mounts or for installation on the floor have been specially designed for vertical gardens. Trays with vegetable seedlings or flower pots are installed on a stand or in brackets located on a strip fixed to the wall. One module can accommodate from 9 to 20 or more flower pots. It is most convenient to grow flowers with short stems in vertical modules, such as spathiphyllums, tradescantia, crotons or marantas.Plants with long stems are best grown in pots on the floor or on separate stands where nothing will interfere with growth.
We decorate the garden with decorative structures and climbing plants
When the basic layout of the garden is completed, all that remains is to decorate it. Birds or exotic animals, fairy-tale characters - garden decor is presented in stores in a huge assortment.
Arches and openwork metal structures will serve as an excellent support for the stems of climbing plants, which will decorate your garden with a real waterfall of leaves of various shapes and colors. Climbing plants are simply created for vertical gardening, as they are able to fill all the empty corners of the room. The most popular species include ampelous begonia, dipladenia and campanula or bellflower. On the free floor space you can place tubs with decorative citrus or miniature coniferous trees.
