First off, Happy New Year to all! My husband and I rang in 2013 with our friends in Austin. We're pretty pooped from all the driving, but I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season :).
Above is a picture of my herbs (mint, thyme, bay leaves, oregano, parsley), along with two varieties of sweet potato vine, which is one of my favorite plants. They are all hanging from the railing on my third floor balcony. As you can see, I've managed to fit many plants into a very small space using flower boxes.
Utilizing railings on a balcony is a great way to free up gardening space. And staggering flower box holders on both sides of a railing is probably the best way to maximize railing space.
I ordered these flower box holders from Wal-Mart for $6.00/each. The flower boxes are from Wal-Mart and Home Depot. I got them for $5.00-$8.00/each. Right now I only have four sets of holders/flower boxes, but my railing could potentially fit eight more sets. So if you do the math, that's 12 flower boxes hanging from my railing--that's a lot of gardening crammed into a small space!
Sure, this may be one of those "well, duh" tips, but I've very rarely seen urban gardeners make use of both sides of a railing, much less their entire railing. I'm working on buying more flower box holders, and I intend on filling up the remainder of my railing space with them. I'll post more pictures of the finished product.
Hi Vertical Gardener, glad to meet you and thanks for visiting my site. We are almost on the same conditions as I live on the 5th Floor, in fact i have posted a lot of 5th Floor Window scenes in my other blog 'Andrea in this Lifetime. I don't have railings like yours but i have a 1.5/x1m ledge. However, i am now facing some problems, someone below me want my plants removed! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHey, Kalantikan :). I will have to check out your other blog, too. Thanks for stopping by. I can't imagine why your downstairs neighbors would want your plants removed...unless, of course, you're growing man-sized carnivorous plants a la "Little Shop of Horrors" on your balcony. Which I know you're not. Totally lame. Your landlord shouldn't pay any mind that silly neighbor of yours. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteOne of the issues that many working with balconies run into is the issue of water dripping down on balconies below them. Some of the new rail mounted planters that are coming out are designed to be self-watering. As a bonus, they generally do not have the same problem with drainage that others may have, so they might be worth looking into.
ReplyDeleteA second issue is one of safety. Depending on your location, your balcony could experience problems with winds that are capable of lifting objects from the balcony. The building I live in has seen cast iron tabletop b-b-cues and patio furniture take flight. A couple of zip ties can help give you and your neighbors peace of mind.
By the way. Love the double planter idea.
Good points, Sherry. However, I haven't experienced those problems with flower box holders because they hang in front of or behind the railing, so water drips either in front of balconies below or onto my own balcony.
DeleteI'm also glad I haven't had to deal with wind issues like you have! With a windy balcony, I'd purchase flower boxes that come with mounting hardware for you to secure it onto your railing. They're more expensive than your ordinary flower box, but well worth if it you stand to lose an eye ;).