This year the winter is particularly persistent. But at some point the days get warmer and summer will start in less than twelve weeks. So it is not premature to make your own balcony “fit” for the summer.
If you live in the city and do not have a garden, the balcony is often the only way to bring nature into your own living environment. Correctly designed, the balcony can mean a bit of quality of life and provide “wellness”. It doesn’t even take a lot of effort. A balcony can be turned into an oasis of wellbeing with simple means.
Balcony plants – it depends on the location
Plants always give balconies a friendly face and bring “splashes of color” into everyday living. The color “green” has a calming and harmonizing effect. The location must be taken into account when planting the balcony. Semi-shady plants such as grasses, fuchsias, lobelia, daisies or petunias are suitable for east-facing balconies. Southerly locations tolerate sun plants – here Mediterranean plants can also be considered, for example lavender, tomatoes, oleanders or olives. Similar to east-facing balconies, west-facing balconies should be “partially shaded” – ideally plants that come into their own in the evening sun. It can be lush, flowery and fragrant – lilies, petunias or angel trumpets make it possible. North balconies need plants with little need for sun, such as begonias, colored nettles, ferns, fuchsias, hydrangeas or men’s faithful.
The “thematic” balcony design
It is also possible to arrange the balcony “thematically” and give it a characteristic “look”. Plants and balcony furniture should form a harmonious unit. The furniture for the balcony and garden doesn’t even have to be expensive. In this way, the balcony can become a place that takes you into another world. Examples of “themed balconies” are
- the Asian balcony: Asian feeling can be easily created with color combinations of red and black or white and green. Bamboo should not be missing here, whether as a privacy screen or as an eye-catcher in the pot, for example with a dwarf bamboo;
- the Mediterranean balcony: needs terracotta tubs, wicker chairs and “typical” plants such as citrus, lavender and herbs from rosemary to thyme;
- the herb garden balcony: combines the beautiful with the useful. Herbs are ideal balcony plants, whether in the tub or in the balcony box. Rustic furniture goes well with this.
The list goes on and on. There are hardly any limits to the imagination.
The right balcony furniture
A big problem with balconies is limited space. Pay attention to this with the furniture. Often both are not possible – seating and sunbathing with deck chairs at the same time. Then a decision is necessary. When things get particularly tight, folding furniture offers a way out. A table and two chairs are sufficient as “minimum equipment”. Balcony furniture is particularly exposed to wind and weather. If existing furniture is to be used again, now can be a good time to “refurbish”. With a fresh coat of paint, a thorough cleaning or a renewed impregnation, tables, chairs and benches are like new for the summer. Then nothing stands in the way of sunny and relaxing balcony experiences.
