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The winter garden is a corner of harmony on the balcony. Video
Residents of modern cities, especially megalopolises, are increasingly experiencing a lack of communication with wildlife. The dynamic pace of life leaves little time to spend more time outdoors, walking in the park or making trips out of town. As a result, a feeling of fatigue appears, stress accumulates, which negatively affects well-being and health. However, this situation can be corrected by arranging a winter garden on the balcony or loggia at home.
Winter garden on the balcony
Arrangement of a winter garden on a balcony or loggia
What do you need to equip a winter garden on the balcony?
First of all, plants need to create suitable conditions. The room for them should be warm, including in the winter season, since many plants do not tolerate frost. To do this, you can:
– equip the balcony in your apartment with water heating. This will allow the heat to be evenly distributed in the room; – Install an electric fireplace. In this case, it should be borne in mind that radiation from electrical appliances can be detrimental to some plants; – insulate the walls of the balcony with wood sheathing. To create additional heat, you can lay a layer of mineral wool under it; – Make a heated floor. It can be used to accommodate plant pots or tubs of small shrubs.
The issue with the balcony glazing should also be resolved. It is best to opt for double or triple glazing. It is worth considering that not all plants tolerate direct sunlight well, and therefore choose frames with glasses that do not allow ultraviolet light to pass through if the windows of the loggia or balcony face the sunny side, or just hang blinds that you can raise and lower if necessary.
Having finished the work on the insulation and glazing of the balcony or loggia, you need to start developing the concept of your winter garden. Decide:
– what plants will be present; – how many plants should be; – is there a place in the winter garden for a small reservoir, waterfall or fountain. This decorative element will not only decorate your garden, but also bring movement to its composition, as well as create a more humid microclimate for plants, which will benefit them.
On the outside of the balcony, you can install hooks for hanging pots – in warm weather, the plants placed in them will look beautiful. Inside the balcony, place pots or boxes with flowers on the sides against the walls, and attach shelves for multi-tiered plants to the walls. Place the boxes with plants that stretch towards the light a little higher: geraniums, asters, carnations. Tuberous begonias, mignonette and marigolds feel good in the shade.
What plants to choose for a winter garden on the balcony
To choose plants for a balcony winter garden, listen to the following recommendations:
For a winter garden on a loggia or balcony, choose annual plants, they are distinguished by abundant flowering and unpretentiousness. These are alissums, nasturtium, mignonette and petunias.
If you plant plants that bloom at different times of the year, your balcony garden will delight you all year round. For example, tulips and daffodils will bloom in early spring, chamomile, pelargonium, begonias will open in summer, and asters will open in autumn.
When choosing flowers for your winter garden, consider their height. For example, tuberous dahlias are fairly tall plants, and seed dahlias are of medium height, so they should be placed higher.
On the windowsill, you can place decorative and light-loving plants – azaleas, roses, hydrangeas, orchids, saintpaulias.
When creating the simplest version of a mini-garden without decor, determine the largest plant as the center of the composition. For example, dracaena, yucca, ficus, palm or dieffenbachia. Place it in a planter on the floor or in a large planter, and place smaller containers and pots with other plants around it. This can be, for example, cyperus, fat woman, spurge, anthurium, calathea.
You can also compose plants by their color. For example, a combination of bright red geranium, orange nasturtium and blue lobelia will look harmonious.
In the photo of the winter garden, which are in various thematic magazines and Internet sites, you can find many interesting ideas on how to place plants on your balcony.
You can place many plants even on a small balcony, creating an atmosphere of a lush garden, if you skillfully select the plants and arrange them correctly
Plant care in the winter garden
Do not forget that a winter garden on a loggia or balcony will require constant attention, care and maintenance from you. Even if you placed the flowers correctly, you will need to check daily to see if they like the conditions you have created. If not, you will find out about this by the signs of unhealthy plants: yellowed or fallen leaves, dried tips or spots on the leaves. In such cases, urgent measures must be taken to prevent the plants from withering. In some cases, for a flower to come to life, it is enough to rearrange it from one place to another.
Spraying the leaves and watering the plants also take some time, especially if there are a lot of them. For some types of plants, place the moss in a tray and water it periodically. Due to this, humid air will constantly surround the foliage. It is good if you have the ability to control humidity, lighting and temperature in the room using equipment.
When plants love the climate and location, they will actively grow and bloom, giving you pleasure and joy. All your efforts will pay off with interest when you comfortably settle down with your favorite book and a cup of coffee in your own winter garden, enjoying the creation of your own hands and taking a break from the daily hustle and bustle.