20 small balcony garden ideas for home

Garden ideas for home:

Most of us who live in apartments love to have a garden, but space constraint is one of the major blocks that makes it almost impossible. One good idea to make this dream of having a garden come true for those who live in cities and highly crowded apartments is to make a small balcony garden. When it comes to garden ideas for home, interesting and attractive ideas are always sought for. 

These garden ideas are easy to implement DIY garden projects with a minimal budget. Terrace garden ideas for home are also becoming more and more popular. But, those who cannot implement the roof garden idea for home, such as those living in a rental house or in an apartment can go for balcony garden ideas for home. 

Small balcony garden ideas for home:

There are various garden design ideas including vertical garden ideas for home. Here are 20 best, attractive easy to make small balcony garden ideas for home. 

If you are a lover of a lot of plants and would like to have a jungle look in your home, then this particular garden idea for your balcony will make your desire come true. 

If you want to give your balcony garden a trendy look, with vertical planter idea and a good place to relax with your family, then designing your balcony like this will get you a lot of space to sit and relax amidst plants. 

You can make your small balcony look much more spacious by using the hanging baskets on your railings, or by making the space on the outer side of the railing your planter space. 

Use the extra vertical space on the side walls to have beautiful hanging plants that add charm to your balcony garden. 

A balcony that receives good sunlight can be designed with a mix of sun loving outdoor plants and indoor plants. This simple balcony garden gives a lot of space to relax as well. 

If you are a beginner gardener, and want to set up a balcony garden, then it is quiet easy to start with easy to grow plants that can be placed on the vertical space on the wall. Placing the plants on the vertical garden space will also help you to monitor and care them easily. 

If you love a clean look and a minimalist approach, then the garden design idea above will be highly suitable for you. 

To give a simple neat and trendy look to your balcony using wooden planks and wooden planters on the corners will give an attractive look to your balcony garden. 

If you are willing to spend an extra budget for your balcony garden set up, then using some lights and wall hangings in your balcony garden will add an extra charm to your home. 

Making a green wall idea for your balcony garden in an excellent garden idea for home. It gives that fresh look and feel to your home. 

For those who love a lot of flowers adding perennial flowering plants to your balcony will  make your sit-out look bright and colourful to enjoy your tea time. 

Even the smallest, narrow balcony can be made look green with an artificial grass on the floor and plants in hanging pots.

A simple, yet rich look to your balcony can be given by using this tree branch garden design idea for your balcony. 

If you are not some one who would like to do a lot of work and yet want to make your balcony look beautiful with plants, then this kind of design is for you. 

A flower bed  on a raised balcony floor kind of a look can add more colours and beauty to your balcony. The actual balcony space can be used to design a sitting space to enjoy the beauty of the flowering plants in your garden. 

If you want to have all sorts of plants and shrubs in your garden and have only the balcony space to make your garden, then this kind of an  design will allow you to place even shrubs that look like trees. 

Gardening for beginners can be made very easy with this kind of a balcony garden design. Flowering plants and easy to care plants can boost up your gardening passion. 

A lot of hanging plants on your balcony terrace can add more lush green look to your balcony garden.

A simple elegant garden design for your balcony will  make you fresh and will look cool. 

The creepers that can be planted in y our balcony space will add shade and green look to your balcony, giving it a park like look to your home. 

How to propagate plants successfully like a pro - Gardening tips for Plant propagation.

Propagation has been the most looked out method for multiplying plants as we would like to fill our garden space with beautiful plants in an cost-effective manner.  Multiplying the plants in our garden and balcony, to give that jungle look to our living space, using plant propagation, has also become trending among young gardeners. 

Moreover, Propagating plants can easily add more plants to either your indoor or outdoor collections. 

There are various methods of plant propagation and propagating plants through cuttings is one of the easiest and cost effective methods. 

When it comes to Growing new plants through plant cuttings, it can either be through stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, or root cuttings. 

Now we will see about the process and few plants that can be propagated through stem cuttings. The list will include a mix of indoor and outdoor plants. 

When it comes to stem cuttings the kind of stem can be categorised as 

1. Herbaceous

2. Softwood

3. Semi hardwood

4. Hardwood

Herbaceous stem cuttings:

These are done for herbaceous plants that are non - woody. 

Herbaceous stem cutting propagation method can be used for Coleus propagation, Chrysanthemum propagation, Philodendron propagation, propagating Impatiens, propagating Poinsettias, wandering Jew propagation and Dahlia propagation. Rosemary cuttings are very easy to propagate. Thyme and mint propagation can also be done from herbaceous stem cuttings. 

Softwood stem cuttings:

These are the soft, succulent, young, stem cuttings from woody plants. These softwood of the plant will snap when bent and will also have leaves that are not yet fully mature. 

The bending test is the best method for finding the right softwood for plant propagation. 

• ‌New growth will generally be greenish and will not break easily when bent. 

• ‌Soft wood will easily break when bent and this is just right for propagation of plants through stem cuttings. ‌

• Hardwood will not break easily. 

Some plants that can be propagated through softwood stem cuttings are, coleus, gardenia, geranium, hibiscus, lilac, salvia, etc. Hydrangea cuttings, lavender cuttings, jade plant cuttings,

Semi hardwood cuttings:

Semi hardwood cuttings are collected from the stem that has grown in that season, but has hardened and matured. 

These stems will have leaves of full size. 

Semi hardwood cuttings take longer to form roots. 

Some plants that can be propagated using semi hardwood cuttings are Coprosma (taupata), camellia, azalea, New Zealand broadleaf (Griselinia), hebe, Fuschia, Leucodendron, boxwood, rhododendron and holly. 

Hardwood cuttings:

Hardwood cuttings are nearly 1 inch in width and are taken from stems that have grown the previous season. They are not easy to break. 

Examples of plants that can be grown from hardwood cuttings are figs, Pomegranates, mulberries, grapes, gooseberries etc. 

Here is the exact process of propagating plants from stem cuttings. 

Do you notice these common signs in your plant - BE ALERT - Gardening tips and Gardening ideas.

Plant nutrients and it's importance: 

Plants, just like us need nutrients and having great interest in gardening, we would have definitely tried out different fertilizers. We will now see about what nutrients plants actually need and in addition to this we will also see when is the right time to provide the plant nutrients. 

Importance of noting various signs in plants, to identify the kind of nutrient lacking in the plant: 

You need not be an expert farmer or gardener to know these, as this is not rocket science. These are just simple gardening tricks and gardening tips that you need to know. 

Signs in the leaves and what do they indicate: 

First we will see certain signs in leaves and will see which nutrient deficiency causes these signs, so that we can supply the plant with those specific nutrients. Check out for brown spots in the leaves especially in the edges, yellowing of veins, yellow edges and brown veins. 

In addition to these signs curling of leaves, purple spots under the leaves should also be looked for. Mostly these deficiency symptoms will begin to appear in older leaves. 

What happens if these signs are left unnoticed: 

This when left unnoticed will lead to overall reduction in plant growth including reduced root development, seed and fruit development. If you notice any of these or most of these symptoms then it is definitely due to potassium deficiency. Potassium is the 3rd most important nutrient required by plants. 

Potassium deficiency and plant diseases:

Moreover, potassium deficiency will lead to more diseases in plants, this is because the thickening of cell walls in plants will not happen properly. This is because when adequate amount of potassium is present, silica will be accumulated and incorporated into the cell wall thus strengthening the cell wall which functions as a physical barrier to the pathogens which cause plant diseases. So now let's see what we can do to increase the level of potassium. We will look into certain natural sources of potassium. 

Natural sources of potassium: 

Seaweed, wood ash, crop residue, manures, kelp meal, green sand (which can be got in the nursery), fruit peel fertilizer - especially banana peel fertilizer and coffee grounds. 

Wood ash is one of the richest and fastest accessible source of potassium for your plants. You can easily make it at home and provide a feast for you plants in the garden.

Use this homemade liquid fertilizer as a rich source of nitrogen and potassium for your plants.

Be it gardening beginners or those who have been into gardening for quite a few years, all of us are constantly looking out for organic homemade fertilizers which can provide rich nutrients to the plants.

Various liquid fertilizers

In this hunt for liquid fertilizers, we would have tried quiet a lot of homemade fertilizers ranging from manure tea, compost tea, banana peel liquid fertilizers, onion skin liquid fertilizer to crushed egg shell liquid fertilizer.

View this video to know in detail about use of coffee grounds for your garden.

This particular fertilizer that we are going to discuss today is quite different from the above ones and it can be easily made from one if the common plants that grows in your garden or backyard itself. But, this plant is considered a waste and commonly thrown away. It is also mostly considered as a hindrance to your other useful for growing vegetable plants or growing ornamental plants.

By this time you should have guessed it, yes it is nothing other than grass. Most of the time, almost in every garden and lawns we have these grasses growing out of control. We just trim of the grasses and throw it away.

What does the usage of grass do for your plants in the garden?

Here is the good news. These grasses when used as a liquid fertilizer will contribute to enhanced growth and development of plants and it also increases the quality of food provided by the plants.

Ok, now before we move onto the actual process of how to make liquid fertilizer using grass, let's see what component in grass actually contributes to this better growth of your plants.

What nutrient does grass have which acts as a fertilizer for plants?

Grass is very high in nitrogen content and this component is the one that actually makes up the plant DNA and chlorophyll, which is necessary for making its own food.

Apart from this, the grass liquid fertilizer is also rich in potassium and this is the component that plays multiple roles in plant growth. Potassium helps in help in 

1. Easy transport of water, nutrients and carbohydrates in plant tissue
2. Increase root growth
3. Reduce wilting
4. Increases photosynthesis
5. Enhances the protein content in plants
6. Decreases or slows down crop diseases


Video on 11 organic fertilizers that you wouldn't have known

 

How to make grass liquid fertilizer for your garden?

Having so many benefits for your garden, now it is high time to see how to make this grass liquid fertilizer or grass garden tea for your plants.

Step 1. Every time you cut down your grass from your lawn or your backyard, just collect them in a bucket.

Step 2. Once you have half a bucket of these grass cuttings add water in the bucket till it covers the grass surface.

Step 3. Allow this to sit for 1week to 10 days.

Step 4. Intermittently keep mixing it, in order to aerate it well

Step 5. After 10 days you can use this grass liquid  homemade fertilizer directly to your plants or if you want to feed your seedlings or smaller plants, just dilute the solution in 1:3 ratio and add it to the plants.

This fertilizer can be made much effective by adding few other plants or something called weeds in your garden. Here are the other kinds of weeds or plants that can be added to make the liquid fertilizer.

5 must know Gardening Hacks and Gardening Ideas - Gardening for Beginners

Gardening is an evergreen hobby for almost everyone. More and more youngsters are getting interested in gardening, and organic gardening has taken up a new place in the hearts of people. If you are here reading this blog, then definitely you are also one among them looking for some easy gardening hacks or gardening ideas that can help you grow as a successful gardener. If you are looking for some kind of content related to gardening for beginners, then go ahead and read till the end. 

Gardening hack number 1: News papers can help you get rid of the number one gardening enemy - the weeds. 

If you are a gardening beginner, then definitely weeds will be one of the most common gardening problems that you will face. Ofcourse, these are still a hectic problem for those who have been gardening for years together. Here is a simple but highly effective hack that will help you get rid of the weeds in your garden bed. 

Just take a thick layer of newspaper and spread it around your plants just leaving the area of the plants that you have planted. Water it well so that it will not fly away. The thick layer of newspaper will not allow the seeds of the weeds to sprout and grow. 

Other alternatives: Instead of a news paper you can use rice sacks and to add some weight on the rice sacks to stop it from flying. You can just add some sand or gravel on top of it. 

       

Gardening hack number 2: Ants and vaseline, what's the link?

Ants are the next biggest problem in the garden or It might even be inside your house. Vaseline can help you get rid of ants, wondering how? Just dab some vaseline in the ant hole openings, ant’s pathways and places where they hide. Ants and other such insects do not move on the sticky layer.

Gardening hack number 3: See what baby powders can do for your plants.

If you have been into gardening for quite longer, you would have definitely known that Japanese beetles are one among the troubles for your flower and vegetable garden. These can be avoided by just sprinkling some baby powder on the plant leaves. This will keep them away at least till the powder is washed off. 

Gardening idea number 4: Do cats usually tend to spoil your herb garden?

Small herb gardens in your kitchen window sill or in your backyard are the most common place of visit for your cats and these easily tend to mess up your herb garden. To prevent cats, just place some forks around the herb plants just as shown in the picture below.

Gardening idea number 5: Plan out for companion gardening. 

There are certain plants that thrive well when planted close to other plants and there are certain plants that thrive well only when planted alone. For instance, tomatoes, the most commonly grown vegetable at home, tends to thrive well and produce more when planted together with basil. Other companion plants for tomatoes are spinach, carrots, lettuce, onion etc. Here are the enemies for tomatoes and they are, cabbage,potatoes, beets, rosemary etc.