Making the most of your balcony – how to decorate a balcony that suits you.
The balcony can be an extra room during the summer months – but how do you create that perfect feeling on the balcony? How should you decorate and what can you grow? Here are some tricks to maximize your balcony this summer.
Furnish according to need
The first question you should ask yourself is what you want to use your balcony for. Do you want to use every nook and cranny for cultivation? Well, maybe you should just have a simple chair that allows you to sit and enjoy the vegetation? But if you’re dreaming of a balcony where you have room to hang out with friends and family, it might be a good idea to grow plants at the top, for example, to leave room for cozy lounge furniture.
Growing at height
Growing at height frees up space, and it doesn’t have to be difficult at all. Rustic, multi-level wooden shelves and classic flower boxes, now available in stylish minimalist versions, are a way to bring your garden up a notch. But you can also set up a trellis where climbing plants can be allowed to wind their way up. You’ll have to look long for a better-looking privacy screen! Reinforcing mesh makes great trellis and is inexpensive, takes up little space, and has a slightly industrial feel.
Location, location, location
As with homes, location is one of the most important factors when growing on a balcony. A south-facing balcony can get really hot in the summer, while a north-facing balcony may not provide enough light for some plants. Be sure to ask lots of questions to the people working in the garden shop so that you get plants that thrive on your balcony.
Plant wall?
If you want to completely surround yourself with plants, there are systems that you can set up over an entire wall, suitable for so-called hydroponic cultivation. This means that you grow without soil. Then you simply sow the seeds directly into water with plant nutrients or into leca balls that are in direct contact with the water. Just make sure you don’t run out of water and nutrients and replenish often when it’s at its hottest. Lettuce, basil, parsley, dill, and coriander are good for sowing directly in water, while slightly coarser plants such as tomatoes, chili, strawberries, rosemary, and thyme work better in leca balls. A bonus of hydroponic farming is that you don’t have to get your hands dirty with the soil.
Lights are as important inside as outside
In Sweden, we are fortunate to have long, bright summer evenings, but it does get dark eventually and you want to be able to light up the balcony. In addition to lighting candles and having lights along the railing, there is now a plethora of different types of lights – trendy floor lamps, practical solar-powered lights, and cozy candle lanterns. We often hear that we should have a lot of light sources indoors, but we should think the same when decorating our balcony. Let your imagination run wild!
Don’t forget the heat sources
Even though the evenings are long in summer, they can be a little cooler than we would like. Beautiful throws and blankets provide warmth and a cozy feeling on the balcony, and if you want to get even warmer, maybe a patio heater is for you? For example, there are now wall-mounted heaters and floor lamps that provide both light and heat, allowing you to enjoy your balcony well into the small hours.