Balcony Plant Care
Watering Balcony Plants: How to Tell When Pots Need Water
Learn how to check whether a pot needs water, how to water so the whole root ball gets wet, and how to read the signs of too much and too little.
Guides
30 guides published
Balcony Containers
Balcony Planters: How to Choose Containers That Fit Your Space
How to choose balcony planters by drainage, size, material and shape, with a comparison table of terracotta, ceramic, plastic, fabric, wood and metal containers.
Balcony Gardening Basics
Balcony Sunlight: How to Assess Light Before You Buy Plants
Find out whether your balcony is full sun, part shade or shade with a simple one-day check, and learn what direction, nearby buildings and the season do to the light.
Balcony Gardening Basics
Balcony Gardening for Beginners: How to Start a Small Garden
A calm starting order for an empty balcony: check the rules, watch the sun and wind, measure the floor, then choose containers, potting mix and plants that match your light.
Seasonal Balcony Gardening
Balcony Garden in Winter: Protecting Pots and Plants
What to do with balcony containers when the season ends: which plants are finished, which come indoors, how to protect pots that stay out, and how to store the rest.
Seasonal Balcony Gardening
Balcony Garden in Summer: Heat, Sun and Thirsty Pots
Why balconies get so hot in midsummer and what helps: checking and watering deeply, keeping roots cooler, adding shade with care, and preparing for trips and storms.
Seasonal Balcony Gardening
Spring Balcony Garden Checklist: Getting Ready to Plant
A step-by-step spring checklist for your balcony: clean up, inspect pots and fixings, refresh potting mix, time your planting around frost, and harden off young plants.
Balcony Plant Care
Balcony Plant Pests: Aphids, Spider Mites and First Steps
How to identify aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, fungus gnats and leaf chewers on balcony plants, and the gentle first steps to take before anything else.
Balcony Plant Care
Fertilizing Container Plants: A Simple Guide for Balconies
Why plants in pots run out of nutrients, what the three numbers on a fertilizer label mean, and how to feed balcony containers without overdoing it.
Balcony Vegetables
Growing Peppers in Pots on a Sunny Balcony
What sweet and hot peppers need in a container: warmth, sun, a pot that is big enough, steady moisture and careful feeding, plus why flowers drop and when to pick.
Balcony Vegetables
Growing Lettuce in Containers: Salad Greens for Small Spaces
Sow, thin, water and pick lettuce in a shallow planter: the types that suit pots, how to harvest so plants regrow, and what to do when summer heat makes it bolt.
Balcony Vegetables
Growing Tomatoes on a Balcony in Containers
A step-by-step guide to one tomato plant in one pot: which varieties suit containers, how large the pot should be, planting deep, support, steady watering and harvest.
Balcony Vegetables
Balcony Vegetable Garden: What Can Grow in Containers
An honest look at which vegetables suit a balcony, sorted by hours of sun, with a container-size guide and a realistic idea of how much you can expect to pick.
Balcony Herbs
How to Harvest Herbs in Pots So They Keep Growing
Where to cut basil, mint, parsley, chives, rosemary and other potted herbs so the plant branches and keeps producing, plus what to do when basil has already flowered.
Balcony Herbs
Best Herbs for a Balcony: 9 Easy Choices by Sunlight
Nine easy herbs sorted by the light they need, with a comparison table, notes on wind and winter, and what to know before you buy for a sunny or part-sun balcony.