Living in an apartment, villa, or small terrace house with a paved courtyard doesn’t mean you can’t have a lush garden. Small space gardening is not only possible, but it can also be incredibly rewarding and fun! With a little creativity and a few simple tips, you can transform your limited space into a thriving plant haven.
Drainage is one of the biggest considerations when gardening on a balcony or patio as there is no or limited natural soil for your rainwater or irrigation to drain away to. Always take a look at the drain points and ensure they will be able to take enough water to sustain your plants, you’ll need to check them regularly from clogging up and it’s a good idea to line them with a mesh to prevent soil particles from blocking them up too.
Balconies can be tricky when it comes to the amount of sun they get, it’s not always cut and dry, full sun or full shade, often you’ll find the balcony above casts a shadow, so part is full sun and part is full shade – this means you’ll have to adapt your planting scheme to suit and don’t be afraid to have a mixture of planting styles to accommodate.
Having a lack of soil can be overcome in various ways on a balcony with pots being the simplest choice, the smaller pot the quicker it will dry out so try to give your plants the biggest pot you can fit into the space. One of the benefits of growing in a pot is you can easily grow different plants that require different light levels and water them individually for optimal growth.
The potting mix is vital to its success and cheap mixes are a false economy, buy the best quality you can afford. Potting mixes with the red tick symbol have passed the Australian standard for quality so you know you should have success. Most good quality potting mixes have slow-release fertilisers, but you can supplement these after 4 months of growth as they will have expired by then and you want your plants to keep growing.
I like to use granulated soil wetter twice a year in my pots too to make sure the water penetrates all the way through the pot to the root ball and doesn’t end up running around the outside and straight out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.
Grow bags are an excellent way to get seasonal planting into your balcony and suit colourful annuals or veggies and herbs, these are basically bags of potting mix, but they have easy to follow instructions on them to ensure proper drainage and plant spacing. You can dress them up by building a frame for them to sit in or simply sit them on a table or even on the floor and allow the plants (herbs work well for this) to spill over the edge adding greenery and texture to your balcony.
If you are struggling for space, then grow up the walls with a vertical garden, there are systems for all budgets and situations adding foliage and colour with maximum impact. Pick a wall that will be seen from both inside and out so you can bring the garden indoors too. Ensure you have a system with a built-in irrigation system to give the plants exactly what they need as they do dry out quickly. I think it’s always a good idea to have the more drought tolerant plants at the top of the wall and the thirstier species towards the bottom as naturally as the water percolates through it will suit these plants.
When choosing a system look for one with easy to remove individual potted plants, this will give you flexibility to move your plants around to ensure they are in the optimum position. If you need to replace them it’s much easier and less messy and less time consuming as well. The best benefit to an individual potted system is it gives you the flexibility to have a whole new look using the plants you have by simply rearranging them.
