Winter garden on the balcony or landscaping the balcony with your own hands

Recommendation points

• Types of landscaping balconies
• We create conditions for plant growth
• Design options for a winter garden equipped on a balcony
• The sunny side, which plants to choose
• The shady side, which plants to choose
• Accessories for balcony landscaping

Psychologists have proven that the greenery of plants soothes and relaxes, adjusts in a good way and just pleases the eye. Happy owners of balconies can afford to enjoy greenery even in winter by making a winter garden. Learn how to bring this idea to life in this article..

Types of landscaping balconies

For landscaping balconies, you can use different methods of planting plants, using them both individually and skillfully combining with each other, which will give the winter garden individuality and originality.

Horizontal landscaping – as the name suggests, more emphasis is placed on horizontal lines. Plant pots are placed on the floor along the perimeter of the balcony. You can use low, narrow shelves, racks, stands for flowers and display plants on them in lines. An excellent option would be to install a plank along the entire window or around the entire perimeter. Planters, balcony flower boxes are hung on it and plants are planted there..

Vertical gardening – the wall must be fully involved here. In this case, climbing plants are irreplaceable. Along the wall, you can use long, narrow pots or flowerpots installed directly on the floor, in which the vines are planted. You can install tall racks with shelves, and put flowers on them. Phytowalls are also used – special modules where flowers are planted in a composition.

Fitowalls are a new fashionable trend in indoor greening. And it is worth giving preference to it due to its compactness, autowatering technology and aesthetics. Fitostena is a construction, the most popular dimensions of which are: thickness about 15 cm, height 2 m and length from 1 m. It provides an automatic irrigation system with a sensor, installation and mounting of backlight is possible. Plants are planted in special pockets with peat without soil. It turns out a solid “green wall”.

Mixed landscaping – partial use of horizontal and vertical landscaping of balconies. This is the use of linearly set hoops, phytowalls and shelves in the overall composition. The main condition is the harmony of space.

We create conditions for plant growth

To create a winter garden, you need a glazed warm balcony without drafts, so you need to close all the cracks, insulate concrete fences with heat-insulating material, and then decorate with PVC panels, moisture-resistant plasterboard, etc..

You need to think about heating. You can, for example, install an electric heater and decorate it with a drywall screen. If possible, install an air conditioner to control the temperature regime of the balcony.

Attention! For good development, indoor plants require a temperature of 15 to 22 ° C.

The concrete floor also needs to be insulated, especially if you are going to use the balcony as a recreation room. To do this, make a heated floor or lay an insulated covering..

Attention! When choosing a floor covering, consider the increased humidity of this room, caused by the need to spray the plants..

Air humidity greatly affects the appearance of plants. Due to its excess or deficiency in plants, the decorative properties of the leaves are reduced. For a good microclimate, install a humidifier on the balcony (set the humidity regulator to 80%, this will be enough, since this is an average for many types of plants).

An alternative option is to install expanded clay pallets under the pots. Pour water into the trays, it will evaporate, and the necessary moisture will be created around the plants.

The lighting on the balcony must be thought out regardless of whether your side is sunny or shady. In winter, there is short daylight hours and plants can stretch out due to lack of light. Fluorescent lamps are suitable for lighting the winter garden. Long narrow lamps can be hung along the ceiling, can be fixed to the wall, but not lower than 2/3 of the balcony height. On average, 4 fluorescent lamps will be enough for a standard balcony. The main rule for balconies on shady sides is more artificial light! It’s too hot on sunny sides in summer, so hang blinds or curtains. Use them during hot hours on sunny days..

Design options for a winter garden equipped on a balcony

It is important to think over the design of the balcony and stylize your winter garden. Here are some options for a style solution, choose your style or experiment, make your dream of a winter garden come true.

The classic style is characterized by harmony, nobility and aristocratic taste. Beautiful columns with stucco molding, art parquet, marble, graceful carved chairs, noble expensive materials in decoration will create the classic style of your winter garden.

Use large plants such as ficuses and palms in beautiful clay or ceramic pots. Set them in line in cascades. Hang curtains, they will emphasize the aristocracy of the classic style. The furniture will suit antique or elegant forged.

High-tech style is translated from English as “high technology”. This is an interior similar to a production room, where communications are paraded. But they are aesthetically pleasing. This style is distinguished by a lot of space and light..

As practice shows, this is the most successful style for balcony gardening. Choose pots of the correct geometric shape, smooth metal surfaces resembling an intergalactic ship. Use ventilation pipes as supports.

The Japanese style implies the mandatory use of the four elements of the universe – water, stone (wood), earth and air. Everything here should cause peace and nothing should overload attention. The whole interior is set up for reflection and philosophy.

Separate a small area on the balcony floor, use decorative pebbles on it. Arrange the characteristic bonsai plants. Use bamboo to decorate the wall. Install a water source – mini waterfall.

Rustic style (or country) – implies a simple quiet country house with a beautifully flowering garden. All kinds of wickerwork, natural finishing materials will be characteristic here..

Create a cozy rustic interior on the balcony using wicker furniture and finishing materials close to nature in color and texture. You can use clay pots for flowers. Place wicker baskets with flower pots in them. You can install a decorative fountain – a mill. Choose flowering plants – violets, fuchsia, Kalanchoe.

Wildlife style involves creating a corner that is similar to nature. It can be Amazonian nature, forest or taiga, and maybe a steppe. A lot of plants and their thickening are encouraged in this style. As if no man’s foot had stepped here.

Create an atmosphere of wild Amazonian nature by installing a miniature waterfall on your balcony. Stick the wallpaper with the appropriate image or paint the wall yourself. Place plants close to each other so that they create thickets. Try to use different vines and direct them to neighboring plants. To imitate a forest, use numerous trees for the house (thuja, cypress, etc.). Now there are a huge number of them on sale. For your “steppe” on the balcony, pick up various cereal plants.

Modern is a style that uses simple shapes. It is important to emphasize the mobility and functionality of each item here. Stucco molding and various carved forms are not at all peculiar. Contrast in everything is welcome.

Take advantage of all the simplicity and conciseness of the Art Nouveau style, using smooth plain surfaces, geometric pots. Play on contrasts in color, texture, size of objects.

Remember! The wall and floor can be a backdrop for plants, so try to take the time to decorate them. You can, for example, order and make a background with a 3D effect.

When placing plants, consider the following rules:

1. Place all climbing plants along the walls and use trellises for weaving.
2. It is advisable not to place greens along the window, since this will obstruct the passage. If you still want to place some plantings there, be sure to leave the approach to the window so that you can open and close it. Railings can be used with pots mounted or suspended.
3. If you have conceived a certain composition, then remember about its central part. It should be a dominant (a large, beautiful flower, a mini pond, an artificial stone) around which there are less spectacular, but complementary compositional elements.
4. Use the entire balcony space. You can install hanging flowerpots with ampelous plants.

Don’t forget about spot lighting – it will help to effectively highlight and shade the plants. But do not get carried away, illumination can be distinguished on average 1–3 compositional elements. To add a special atmosphere to the garden, use LED lighting.

The sunny side, which plants to choose

Plants for sunny windows are bougainvillea, adenium, cyperus, cacti and succulents, various types of milkweed. Amarylis: clivia, hippeastrum, nerina, amaryllis are also photophilous. Pelargoniums, balsams, fuchsias, anthuriums, hibiscus will delight with their abundant flowering in the southern window. Sunny places like hoya, jasmine. For orchids, choose a cattleya that loves bright light. Unpretentious chlorophytum and sansevieria are also suitable. From large plants, monstera, dieffenbachia, dracaena, palms, ficuses. To prevent sunburn, hang lightweight tulle on windows or use blinds during the hottest hours.

The shady side, which plants to choose

Grow well on the shadow sides of nephrolepis and maidenhair (hair venus), zamioculcas and unpretentious plants – chlorophytums or sansevieria (mother-in-law’s tongue). Ferns are also shade-loving plants. Aspidistra can grow even away from the window. Deciduous begonias, dieffenbachia, alocasia, syngonium feel good on the shady sides. Anthurium and Aeschinanthus will grow, but most likely not bloom. Palm trees can also be grown on the shady side, for example, bamboo palm, chamedorea, grows well in the shade. From large plants, hibiscus (Chinese rose) is suitable. Shade-loving climbing plants are ivy, hoya and cissus (indoor grapes). If you have artificial balcony lighting, then you can try and experiment with even more plants. Do not forget about feeding, they also give a good effect..

Accessories for balcony landscaping

Use various optional accessories to decorate your winter garden:

• all kinds of pots;
• stand pots;
• irrigation devices stuck into the ground;
• signboards;
• floor and wall stands for flowers;
• various supports and mounts for them;
• mini ponds, mini fountains;
• tables and chairs.

Having arranged a winter garden on the balcony, do not forget that indoor plants are a living organism that requires proper care and constant attention..