I absolutely love spending time in my balcony garden.
It’s the perfect way to enjoy some greenery and fresh air without leaving the comfort of my own home.
If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony, you should definitely consider turning it into a cozy outdoor space with some beautiful plants and accessories.
In this article, I’ll be sharing 26 balcony garden ideas that will inspire you to create your own little oasis.
Whether you have a small or large balcony, there are plenty of ways to add some greenery and personality to your space.
From hanging plants to vertical gardens, there are so many creative ways to make the most of your balcony.
So, let’s dive in and explore some of the best balcony garden ideas out there!
1. Choose furniture with storage
Space is at a premium when it comes to your balcony garden ideas, so make your furniture work harder.
Some of the best garden furniture around can play double duty, acting as storage as well as tables or seating.
Use these to store outdoor cushions, planting essentials and anything else balcony-specific.
While these should all be water-tight in theory, there’s no harm in adding a lining or wrapping your items in plastic before adding them in, in order to ensure your belongings survive the tempestuous British weather.
2. Lay artificial grass
If the main thing you wish you could take from a garden up onto a balcony is the grass, then never fear.
While planting a mini lawn may not be the best, or easiest, idea, you can instead lay artificial grass.
The variations are getting incredibly soft underfoot and realistic looking, so you can delight all the senses with this addition to your balcony garden ideas.
3. Add a climber
If your balcony isn’t too high up you may be able to train a planter up bamboo from the ground beneath.
Your best options, depending on the angle of your garden, are likely to be jasmine or clematis and with both of these you’ll also have the benefit of some beautiful blooms to boot.
4. Trick the eye
If you have a plain wall on your balcony, consider painting it in a shade that will effectively disappear.
Choose a mild colour that’s a pale, mid-toned blue that’s a good average to the various shades of the sky.
An added plus is that instead of disappearing on an overcast day, you’ll be greeted with a hint of colour which will brighten things up,
5. Create a natural canopy
To give your balcony space a cosy and enveloping feel, opt to plant creepers and vines in pots and planters, to encourage them to grow up and over your balcony space.
You might need to install some trellis to your balcony walls, or string up some wire for your creeper to wind itself along, but with a little encouragement and tending to, you could soon have an oasis of green, just outside your balcony door.
6. Add pops of colour
There’s nothing like a big hit of colour to bring life and soul to your balcony garden ideas.
Outdoor rugs, cushions and paper flower garlands will all transform your outside space come spring.
Flowers arranged in vases and vessels will always bring a smile to your face, even if they are faux!
Geraniums are perfect for bringing colour to your space and are easy to grow, plus will last all summer long.
Plant them up in hanging baskets, planters or even old watering cans and arrange them in spots around your balcony.
7. Place plants on a ladder
Saving precious floor space is essential if your balcony is on the wee side, but you don’t have to forgo adding plants to your space, with this clever ladder shelf.
Making the most of wall space, ladder shelves provide the perfect spot to house a range of potted plants, including grasses, and ivys, but also herbs like basil, mint, rosemary and thyme.
Be sure to secure your shelf to the wall so that it with stands all weathers and think about painting yours black, so that your plants really pop against it.
8. Arrange plants at different heights
Look at arranging your plants at different heights on your balcony, to make the space feel more full and jungle-like.
Raised planters are great for this, but even popping your plants on to side tables, stools, benches and on shelves will expand the sense of greenery.
Planters that can be hung from the top of your balcony railings are a great idea too, so that your space looks just as thriving from the outside, as it does from the inside.
Choosing to pot all your plants in matching planters will create a neat and unified look and means you can move around your plants to different spots with the change of seasons.
9. Opt for a black back-drop
While black isn’t traditionally recommended for small spaces, it actually works surprisingly well in an outdoor space and provides the perfect backdrop for your plants.
Painting your balcony wall or garden courtyard walls black, will make the green of your plants really pop and echoing that colour on the ground is a great idea too.
Dark grey and galvanised steel planters provide a contemporary look for your balcony setting, and again going for planters of different sizes and heights adds interest.
10. Add benches
Bright coloured furniture can bring the joy to a small space in lieu of lots of plants, and provides a cheery spot to sit.
Benches are perfect space savers as they can provide more seating than individual chairs, can be easily stacked when not in use, and can also be used as a place to display plants too.
11. Light up the deck
Make your balcony garden even more useable by ensuring you have a light source, to enjoy the extended living space after dark.
Solar powered lighting is a great choice, meaning you don’t have to run an outdoor power supply.
Outdoor lighting will allow you to use your balcony garden throughout all times of the day, and all seasons.
12. Install a fence
Conceal your space with a border trellis.
Balconies can unfortunately sometimes lack privacy so a stylish trellis that can double as a plant climber makes an attractive solution.
They’re easy to install and a grid of slats will still let through plenty of light.
Matching planters filled with vibrant hydrangeas or geraniums will blend any hard edges and add a welcoming burst of colour.
13. Invest in structural trees
Small narrow spaces suit long tall plants.
Therefore, trees fit the bill perfectly and can look structurally elegant especially when grouped in varying heights.
Certain tree species, such as olive trees and bay, will be very happy potted in planters and, by keeping their roots in a confined space, will control their growth.
14. Maximise space with a wall mirror
Maximise the feeling of space to your balcony garden ideas by adding an outdoor mirror.
It will maximise the small space, bounce light to brighten any dark corners and double the colour by reflecting vivid plants and foliage.
15. Grow your own
Food lovers need not miss out as sheltered balcony gardens can make perfect salad and vegetables growing spots, so why not become an urban farmer with your very own balcony vegetable garden?
You don’t need a huge garden to grow your own vegetables and herbs.
Garden balconies make great mini allotments as they can be sheltered from wind and are often spots.
Walls make great places to hang herbs and there are lots of small-container vegetable stations available that will fit your space.
Being up high your produce is less likely to be damaged by pests and, of course, you have easy access back to your kitchen.
16. Cater for compact cooking
With small space living becoming more topical designers are always looking for new ways to cater for our needs.
Balcony-friendly BBQs are ideal for those with small outdoor spaces, to ensure those living in multi-storey flats or with limited space no longer have to miss out on the joy of entertaining alfresco.
17. Make it wildlife friendly
The best gardens are those teaming with plant and animal life, and it’s just the same when it comes to balcony garden ideas.
To create a wildlife oasis at home, you’ll need lots of plants.
Make sure you have a good mix of flowering plants as well as shrubs and trees to provide cover.
This should feel less styled than some of the other designs.
The centre stage must be reserved for the plants and foliage. Include plants such as jasmine, lavender, foxglove, honeysuckle, musk mallow, bay tree, hydrangea, salvia.
18. Create a cosy corner
Turn your balcony garden ideas into an outdoor living room for relaxing with a large corner sofa filled with plenty of cushions for comfort.
Many come with hidden storage to protect the seating pads in damp and wet weather.
19. Make the most of a trellis
Make your balcony garden ideas an inviting space for the evenings by adding a few crafty touches.
Everyday items can be painted, upcycled and decorated to create a charming and secluded spot.
Fill a trellis with easy-to-make tealight holders and planters. Spray clean cans with two coats of paint and, once dry, thread wire through pierced holes and loop to form a hanger.
Pierce drainage holes for the planters and punch patterns for the tealight holders. Use citronella candles in the tin holder to deter the midges.
20. Consider foldable furniture
If you’re short on space then look for quaint bistro-style furniture that can be folded away when not in use.
After all, whatever the size, there are plenty of uses for your balcony garden.
If there is room for an outdoor table and chairs you can use it as an outside dining room or maybe as a spill out area for when you are entertaining.
21. Plant a living wall
Everyone’s heard of creating a statement wall in their home.
But while this usually involves some brightly coloured paint or quirky wallpaper, consider taking the same approach on your balcony – but with plants by creating a living wall.
22.Use all surfaces of your balcony
So much attention in gardening is focused downwards on digging, planting and weeding flower beds and lawns, but vertical gardens can make the most of a small space.
There’s a good chance your balcony has limited square footage, so take advantage of all the surface area you have available.
Vertical space can be maximized, for example, with hanging planters that can help you to create a balcony herb garden.
23.Choose the right size planters
When you plan a small garden, it’s important to factor in the size of the planters, and resist them temptation to overcrowd the space, so you can give plants enough room to grow.
‘The container needs to be large enough to support the size plant(s) you will be growing in it,’ says Jeanine Standard of Proven Winners, one of the leading plant brands in the U.S. ‘
The more plants you are adding to the container, the larger it needs to be in order to hold a good amount of soil that will provide the water the plant needs.’
24.Use a plant stand
A multi-tiered plant stand allows for plenty of pots without crowding the floor.
Use all the same plant to make a cohesive statement, or vary your pots and planters for a cottage container garden feel.
25.Grow a living wall vegetable garden
When you think of a vegetable garden, you may think of a sprawling suburban yard or a large plot of farmland, but a balcony wall can offer a chance to incorporate a small vegetable garden into your limited outdoor space.
‘A vertical garden makes green space accessible to the masses and as attention continues to turn to where our food comes from, we’re not hugely surprised that people are now thinking about what more their living walls can offer them,’ says Matt Lindsay, general manager at Growing Revolution. ‘
With a fixture against an external wall or on a balcony, those in flats and other urban homes can reap the physical, mental and environmental rewards that gardening for production provides.’
26.Take advice from a garden designer
Specialising in small-space gardening and the ever-popular trend of container planting, Isabelle Palmer of The Balcony Gardener is deftly positioned to provide expert balcony garden ideas that will transform bijou outdoor areas into ‘the fifth room’.
‘When I first moved to London I had a flat with two very small balconies – it was a contrast to the large garden I was used to growing up, and I wanted to recreate a piece of that in my new home.
‘At home now I have a balcony and a larger garden, so I feel connected to containers or landscaping. Both are enjoyable, but if I had to pick it would be containers, the main benefit being the instant gratification.’