Atlanta Apartments

Think your Atlanta apartment balcony isn’t big enough to be called a “garden?” You may be right, but with the most efficient use of the space you have available, you may find that you can grow more than you imagined.

Start by outlining your goals. Do you want to create a riot of color outside your Atlanta apartment patio doors? Do you want to grow some fresh vegetables and fruits or even some herbs? Are you just looking to bring a bit of green to your part of the city? Or do you want a mixture of all three? By determining ahead of time what you want to accomplish, you can plan ahead to make the best use of space.

Choose “balcony sized” plants. While it would be really cool to grow a watermelon patch, the bottom line is that watermelons are not good for a very small space. You need room for the runners to grow. That’s not to say that you can’t grow watermelons on a balcony, but that you may be sacrificing a great deal of space for this one plant. Instead of melons, you might find some space saving plants that are more in keeping with the balcony garden.

You have some options when it comes to where to plant on your Atlanta apartment balcony. You can certainly construct planters that will make the maximum use of the space available but you can also create a “container garden.” Containers may be the better option because they’re easier to move or to throw away if the time come to move or replace them. Containers don’t have to be expensive. Buckets make great pots for tomatoes, peppers and even flowers.

Climbing on the Atlanta apartment balcony IS allowed, but only by the plants. The railings can be a trellis for climbing plants such as morning glory. Plant the seeds or seedlings in a narrow container such as a window box and allow the plants to climb along the trellis. There are two downsides to this - you have to keep training the vines to grow where you want them and you’re going to have to throw the old vines away when the growing season is over.

Other “running” plants, such as cucumbers, can be grown in a container and trained to a trellis. You can easily make a “trellis” of wooden dowel rods available at any craft or home supply store, or PVC pipe. Just stick these in the soil and your plants will climb. If you want to allow them to go higher, consider a lightweight wire or even string attached to any point on the wall above the plants.

If you’re looking for great cascades of color, portulica or some other type of flowering succulent or moss is a good option. These do well in hanging baskets and some are annuals, meaning they’ll return year after year. If you want to create a really unique hanging basket, start with a small cloth bag filled with potting soil. Cut small holes on the side of the bag and put the seeds or seedlings into the openings. The roots will soon bond to hold the plants firmly in the bag and as the flowers grow, the creation will seem to be a freestanding “ball of flowers.”

Take time to learn about the plants you want to include in your Atlanta apartment balcony garden. Carefully analyze the number of hours of sunlight daily and go to purchase your plants and seeds armed with this information. Remember that there are plants specifically bred for small spaces such as your Atlanta apartment balcony garden and you’re sure to find something that will make your spot perfect.