Your balcony can be a beautiful, ornamental mini-garden to keep you relaxed from the day-to-day hustles of life, especially if you’re living in a bustling city. The way to do it is to grow flowers in your own balcony garden. However, not all flowers are easy and flexible to grow in a small space like a balcony. There are flowers that bloom without any difficulty even when they are simply planted in railing planters, hanging baskets or small containers. Find out these perfect flowers for balconies in this list:
1. Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum flowers, which are also called mums or chrysanths, come in different colors and can be grown in almost every part of the world. They are popular almost everywhere in the world, second in popularity to roses because it’s so easy to grow as it needs only full sun and water. Mums come in different varieties, and the main types are hardy and florist chrysanthemums. Hardy chrysanthemum flowers flourish in cooler weather and can be left outside during winter in a container garden, while florist types do well in mild conditions and need more care, like staking or overwintering indoors. But out of those two, the florist type of mums produce the most beautiful flower blooms.
2. Dianthus
Dianthus flowers are well-adaptable and are very easy to grow in plant containers. They can bring in a splash of color to any garden, as their blooms come in many colors such as solid white, pink, salmon, red, purple and yellow. Sometimes, these flowers come with two colors or marks in the petals. The flowers can also cheer you up with its spicy fragrance. Dianthus flower plants can grow up to 3 to 6 feet, so you can easily find a species that will be fitting for your balcony garden.
3. Marigold
Bright and beautiful, marigold flowers are often planted in butterfly gardens. These flowers attract butterflies, but wards off other insects due to their pungent odor. Because of this trait, marigolds are best planted near your vegetable or herb plants as they can deter some pests that can harm these plants. Marigolds come in gold, orange, yellow and white varieties (sometimes a mixture of these colors). They are low-maintenance plants that prefer full sun and hot days, making them perfect for balconies especially in warm climates.
4. Impatiens
Impatiens are one of the easiest flowers to grow in the shade. If you have a shady balcony or terrace, plant some impatiens. In fact, it’s where they will bloom all spring season long. They love moist and well-drained soil and the early afternoon sun. The Impatiens genus come in different species, but the varieties typically found at local garden shops are annual hybrids. They thrive in flowerbeds, window boxes, hanging containers and pots. These flowers are best planted close together for a full and lush look, but they can also be planted with other shade-loving plants for diversity in colors.
5. Pansy
The unique look and variety of colors of pansies make them loveable as balcony flowers. The flowers are often multi-colored and resemble “faces,” like the singing flowers in Alice in Wonderland. The colors of the flowers include a combination of yellow, white, purple, gold, orange and red. Pansies are actually an example of hybrid flower selectively bred by humans, making them hardy, easy to maintain and quick bloomers. They grow well in container gardens with fertile, neutral, humus or slightly acidic soil. They also give off a mild and delicate fragrance.
6. Petunia
One of the most abundant flowers, petunias are winners when it comes to balcony gardening. They are easy to grow, are relatively drought and heat-tolerant, and needs a lot of sunshine. They bloom profusely and abundantly in different colors, such as different shades of pink, purple, blue and red. They grow well in containers like pots and hanging baskets. Petunias require frequent fertilization and regular deadheading to stimulate full and healthy blooms. These bright and colorful flowers also spread mild fragrance during the night.
7. Verbena
Verbena loves the heat of the sun and rarely blooms in the shade. It’s a perfect balcony plant because it grows well in pots, window boxes, hanging baskets and even on container edges because of their trailing nature. These flowers can be found in a variety of different sizes and vibrant colors. They are also drought-tolerant, making it a perfect flower plant for those who don’t want to water every day.
8. Morning glory
The morning glory is a fast-growing vine with heart-shaped leaves and can grow up to 4 meters long. It is named morning glory because the flowers bloom in the mornings. These flowers come in different colors such as red, purple, pink, white and blue, which is the most common. The flowers do well in plant containers on balconies, and you can even attach a string unto the roof and let the morning glory plant grow along the string. By doing this, you can have some dappled shade in your own balcony, where you can also hang white Christmas lights for a dreamy effect.
9. Begonia
Begonia plants are very easy to grow, and they thrive best in partially shady balconies. This plant has thick-heart shaped leaves are lovely even without flowers. Begonia flowers come in several different varieties, like wax, rex, tuberous and can-stemmed; and in different shades of pink, red, orange, white and gold. They enjoy humid conditions, so choose fertile and moist soil for planting them. They also thrive in hanging baskets.
10. Snapdragon
Also known as dragon flower, snapdragons are an easy-growing plant that produces small flowers. These flowers are colorful and fragrant, which makes them attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Snapdragon flowers also tend to be dominant – they often have so many blooms that the plant foliage below becomes out of sight. The plant varieties range from dwarf (8 inches tall) to tall (3 feet) and can be found in different shades of red, pink and yellow (and sometimes, even bi-colored).
11. Geranium
A common staple in balcony gardens and window boxes, geranium flowers aren’t hard to take care of. They thrive in areas with lots of sunlight and only needs to be watered at least 2 to 3 times weekly. Also, they require good drainage to allow the soil to dry between watering. It blooms into 4 to 5-inch wide, 5-petal flowers that come in different bright colors like white, pink, purple and red. It gives off a fragrant smell that you’d like.
12. Zinnia
Zinnias are best known for its bright blooms that attract butterflies. Like marigold, this flower is great for butterfly gardens. This plant is easy to grow in plant containers and is low-maintenance, making it a perfect flower for your balcony garden. There are a lot of Zinnia species – some have multiple rows of petals that give the flower a full dome shape (which is common), and some only have a single row of petals. The flowers come in white, yellow, orange, red, light green and purple.