Summer is here and it’s time for some flower power! Your balcony is your own personal piece of the great outdoors, it’s time to make it look and feel like home. Here are some summer balcony plants we love.
Plan before you purchase
No one likes to waste money. Before you pick and purchase your plants, make sure your balcony offers the proper conditions to allow your plants to thrive. You’ll need to know how much sun your balcony gets during the day, and pick your plants accordingly. When you see plants labelled as “full sun”, it means at least six hours a day of direct sunlight. If your balcony is shaded by an overhang, you’ll need to choose plants that can thrive in the shade. You’ll also have to water them frequently, as the overhang will also block rain water.
Lavender
If you’ve got a sunny balcony, a pot or two of lavender is a great option. This perennial pleaser welcomes you home with lush, purple blooms that smell fantastic and are said to reduce anxiety and induce a calm state of mind. Beauty, aroma and a positive mood – what more could you want from a potted plant?!
Fuchsia
If you’ve got a shady balcony but you want to come home to long-lasting blooms from spring to fall frost – fuchsia is for you! They come in shades of purple, pink, white, lavender, yellow, orange and red. They do well in hanging baskets or balcony railing planters. If you’re very lucky, you may even attract a hummingbird, or two! Fuchsia can be a bit fussy when it comes to soil moisture. Don’t let it dry out, or stay too wet. A good test is to pick up the planted basket. If it’s dry, it will feel very light.
Sweet Alyssum
If your balcony gets a mix of mostly sun and some shade, consider some Sweet Alyssum. The name comes from the small, delicate flowers and their sweet aroma. Pollinators like bees and butterflies love this plant! It’s low-maintenance, so if you go away for the weekend, you won't come home to dead flowers. Its blooms come in clusters of white, pink, red, violet, and yellow.
Impatiens
If you’re a bit of an impatient balcony gardener, you may want to go with some Impatiens. They bloom early and often last all season long, until the fall frost. You don’t need to deadhead the old blooms. These annuals do best in pots, rather than hanging baskets, as pots tend to hold moisture more efficiently. Impatiens do well in part shade to shade.
We hope these ideas for summer balcony plants add a little life and colour to your balcony.
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