In order to decide what flowers to plant on the balcony, you must first take into account the orientation of the balcony space relative to the cardinal points. Not all garden flowers are suitable for planting in a container. Plants should be unpretentious and put up with a limited amount of land. Nevertheless, gardeners have the opportunity to choose the suitable varieties and make a cozy sitting area on the balcony by putting a couple of garden chairs and a small table there.
The most unpretentious balcony flowers
Any gardener would like to take care of the plants on the balcony minimally and at the same time admire their long and lush flowering. Fortunately, there are types of flowers that meet all these requirements.
5 most popular unpretentious plants:
- Marigold. These flowers are known to everyone. The abundance of varieties allows you to choose plants with a variety of colors (yellow, orange, red, motley) and the degree of terry petals. When landing on the balcony, only low-growing species whose height does not exceed 15–25 cm will look beautiful. Some hybrid marigolds grow in the form of a bush. It will be enough to plant 1-2 plants in a box, in the future they will grow greatly. The flowering of marigolds begins in the early days of summer and continues until frost. In order for plants to always look decorative, it is necessary to remove faded buds in a timely manner.
- Pelargonium. The popular name of this plant is geranium. The flower grows well, blooms magnificent all summer, has a spicy smell. The classic color options are red and white, more modern varieties have a wide color gamut right down to maroon, almost black. In winter, the flower can be transferred to the house, where it will continue to bloom. Geranium is great for creating compositions. Florists recommend combining it with evening primrose, bacopa, immortelle, petunias.
- Nemesia. Low compact bushes perfectly decorate a balcony. For a more magnificent flowering, young seedlings after planting are pinched. Flowers are planted in a box with an interval of 20 cm. The colors of nemesia can be monophonic, two-color and three-color. Heat shortens flowering time. Nemesia can bloom in 2 waves. To get flowers again in the fall, the stems are shortened after the first flowering wave.
- Fuchsia. To plant these flowers on the balcony in the drawers, it is better to choose ampelous varieties of plants. The flower is unpretentious, easily put up with shading. Cascading blossoming buds look very impressive and attract the eye. The length of the shoots of fuchsia can reach up to 50 cm. The color of the flowers is most often red-white. The only important condition for growing fuchsia is regular and plentiful watering. After a drought, the flower will not recover.
- Pansies (Viola). The height of the plant is only 15–25 cm. There are many hybrid varieties. If the flowers are regularly watered and shaded from the midday sun, they will long delight the eye with their beauty. For lush flowering, plants also need fertilizing. The color of the viola is very cheerful, combining two contrasting colors (usually yellow-violet). Flowering continues throughout the summer.
A good start is important for annuals, so you need to properly care for seedlings. If high-quality seeds were used, and seedlings received everything they need, then the flowers will grow healthy, strong. Only such plants can bloom beautifully.
What to plant on a shady balcony?
Balconies located on the north side of the building are called shadow. Shade-tolerant annuals, which tolerate cool air and cold winds, are usually planted here. Sometimes balconies on the south or west side are also shaded, for example, if tall trees grow near the house. What to plant from flowers in this case?
Top 5 plants that will be good in the shade:
- Lobelia. The culture can grow both in the sun (with shading) and in the shade. The plant easily tolerates high humidity, cold, lack of fertilizing. This species belongs to the bellflower family and blooms with delicate small flowers of white, raspberry cornflower blue color. There are bush and climbing varieties of lobelia. The flower is grown through seedlings, and at the end of May transplanted into balcony boxes. To stimulate a new wave of flowering, you need to trim the shoots of bushes. For a balcony, blooming lobelia become a real decoration.
- Nemofila. This flower is called American forget-me-not. Nemophile compensates for her modest beauty with the absence of increased requirements for care. Most often, the flowers are bluish in color with a white center. Their size in diameter is only 1 cm, the annual height can vary from 15 to 30 cm. Since the nemophile is resistant to cold, it can be planted on the balcony in early May. The plant grows well in containers. Nemophile is demanding only for watering (she does not like both dryness and waterlogging). American forget-me-not blooms profusely from mid-July until the first frost.
- Ageratum. The plant is suitable for shaded balconies, where there are no too strong winds. The flower is thermophilic, it is better to plant it in the open air at a temperature of at least 20 ° C. You can pre-sow the seeds or plant the acquired seedlings. This is a perennial plant and for the winter it can be brought into the house. Flowering continues even in the cold season. Most often, the color of the flowers is blue, lilac, white. Ageratum blooms in dense hats. Depending on the variety, the height of the bushes ranges from 10 to 50 cm.
- Begonia ever flowering. This type of begonia blooms for a long time, tolerates shading, loves moist air. She will enjoy the shading on the north balcony. There will not be many flowers, but the opened buds look charming. Begonia is unpretentious in care.
- Primrose. The plant is perennial; for the winter it is brought into the house if the balcony is not heated. Primrose flowers are very bright and delicate at the same time. The plant loves shade. Flowering continues until the end of summer. It is necessary to regularly loosen the earth in a pot and water the flower. Several times during the season you can use complex fertilizers to feed.
For the normal development of shade-loving plants, it is enough to get a diffused color 3-4 hours a day. In the bright sun, their petals often fade, and the foliage becomes faded. The same group includes balsamines, mimulus, calendula, calceolaria.
What to plant on a sunny balcony?
Many plants like to be in the sun, because their homeland is hot countries, where the sun's rays are abundant.
If there is no natural protection against the scorching heat at noon (for example, the lace shade of trees), you can use blinds or roller blinds made of light fabric for this purpose.
For planting in the sun fit:
- Nasturtium. Culture has not only decorative flowers, but also leaves. On the balcony, it is better to grow ampelous varieties, they perfectly decorate the walls. Having planted several instances of nasturtium in the pots, you can create an original green corner in which it is nice to sit with a cup of tea. With the advent of frost, the flower can be brought into the living room and stored until next year. Seeds are sown in 2 pcs. into each pot, doing this in early May. A plant can bloom on a balcony before frost.
- Petunias. Varietal variety of petunias is very large. Cold-resistant hybrids are selected to decorate balconies. The flower can grow in the form of a compact bush, and can have an ampel shape. Varieties also vary in size and degree of terry bloom buds. For the magnificent flowering of petunias, a volume of land of at least 5 liters per plant is required. Will appreciate this culture and feeding. The color of petunias can be the most diverse, plain and variegated. Flowering lasts until October.
- Phlox Drummond. This variety loves sunlight and can tolerate drought, but root overheating is contraindicated. You can protect phloxes by installing a pot in a pot. Phlox like loose fertile land. The plant looks beautiful in hanging baskets in a composition with other flowers. Phlox coloring is very different, elegant, there is a middle contrasting color. If you grow flowers from seedlings, they bloom in early June. Flowering can continue until mid-autumn.
- Morning glory. The flower is interesting in that it daily releases new buds that dry out in the evening. When grown, the plant requires support. Ipomoea clings with its shoots to the bars and rises. The frame support can be installed along the walls or from the side of the street. In the second case, you get a green screen that encloses the balcony from prying eyes. Most often, morning glories are blue and lilac. The length of the shoots can reach several meters. The flower is cultivated as an annual. Next year it will be necessary to grow a green screen anew.
- Gaylardia. An unpretentious flower that easily tolerates not only the scorching sun's rays, but also wind and rain. Gailardia resembles a large camomile in appearance. The culture belongs to the family of asters. Large inflorescences are bright in yellow and crimson colors. The plant can tolerate drought, it is not demanding on the composition of the soil. For early flowering, it is better to grow gaillardia through seedlings. More than other varieties for planting on the balcony, the Arizona gaylardia is suitable - a dwarf plant about 25 cm high.
On the sunny balcony you can drop cymbalaria, snapdragon, purslane, geranium, stonecrops. Succulent plants are exposed from the house onto the sun-drenched balcony, which lacks sunlight in apartments.
Song placement options
Before arranging a flower garden on the balcony, it is necessary to remove all unnecessary from there. The remaining trash will only spoil the impression of the flower arrangement.
The choice of landscaping scheme depends on the area of available space:
- Spacious balconies and loggias can accommodate both large single plants and combined plantings. In addition, it is permissible to use various decor (figures, snags, vases).
- On medium-sized balconies, flowers are usually placed horizontally. Plants can be located in a long hanging box. Also, flowers can be placed in a row along the walls.
- The small balcony should not be overloaded. It is better to decorate it with a vertical composition of several flowers in pots mounted on a rack.
Allow sufficient space for passage.
If the balcony is glazed and heated, it can accommodate not only annuals, but also biennials and perennials.
Even a novice gardener can decorate the balcony with flowers. The main thing is to choose the right plants, given their environmental requirements. Bright fuchsia, petunias, morning glory, viola will give the loggia or balcony a uniqueness, enliven the space. By rearranging the pots in places, you can repeatedly change the appearance of the composition. Proper care of plants is also important.