How to arrange a concrete planter (jardiniere) on your balcony?
You are lucky enough to have a concrete planter (jardiniere) as a part of your balcony (terrace), but you are not sure how to arrange it to make it a pleasing little corner?
Look no more, by following a few guidelines, you wouldn’t have to remove flowers and soil later due to bad choices.
Drainage advice for concrete planter
Before putting the soil in, see if the drainage pipe is clean and if it may need to be extended so that the water from the planter can be drained at the safe distance from the facade.
If the planter is connected to the facade wall or the room wall, be sure to apply waterproffing coating, so that moisture can not be formed on your inner walls.
What to plant - our suggestions:
Annual flowers. The most beautiful decoration of the terrace – Pelargonium, Impatiens, Petunias, Day and night.
Annual creepers that overflow from the jardiniere. They may or may not bloom, depending on the species.
“Carpet” creepers. Perennial “carpet” creepers with fleshy leaves reproduce and grow like a carpet.
Perennial plants. For example – the House-leek (Sempervivum tectorum) of different shapes and colors or just simply one species.
Low vegetation. Some form of grass, shrub, or low vegetation like moss that you will shape with scissors and make your own small arrangement of plants of different heights.
Bamboo stalks.
Decorations. You can always also add some decorations of different shapes to the plants, but intended only for outdoor weather conditions, as well as stones of different sizes, to make it more visually appealing.
Several smaller pots. Plants can be placed in smaller pots of different shapes and sizes, so that they can be arranged above the soil in the planter.
Herbs. If you like to use herbs in your nutrition, then it can be especially useful and still really exotic to have eatable herbs on your balcony. The number of species is unlimited, and it all depends on your preferences. It can be mint, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, everything you like and use for cooking. For the sake of aesthetics and practicality, you can write down the names of the plants and stick next to each one.
Peppers and cherry tomatoes. Very effective would be if you can get hot chili pepper seeds of different flavors and shapes. Different colors will give a very modern look to a balcony and it will surely be something you will be proud of when you see surprise and delight on the faces of your guests.
If you don't like any of these ideas
One of prepositions is to plant the plain grass that grows a little higher and cut it straight “in line” when it grows. That way, you will have greenery that looks minimalist and tidy.
If you don't like plants or often forget to maintain them
Whatever you plant will be a real decoration on the balcony – it’s all a matter of imagination. On the other hand, it is important that the plants are not neglected and don’t represent an ugly corner that you will face every time you walk out. In this case we suggest to:
1. Empty the planter completely.
2. Turn it into a bar table if it is at the right height, which can be a very pleasant place to hang out, especially if you have a balcony with a view. (It would not be bad idea to ask for a hollowed bar board, so during raining the water would’t bounce off the board and spray on the windows or on the facade)
Practical advice
Do not put the air conditioner hose in the planter
Jardiniere is certainly not a good solution for draining water from an air conditioners because it constantly gets wet or even worse full of water if the drain is clogged which further leads to its deterioration and possible corrosion.
Take a look at the pictures in the post, and if you still haven’t got a real idea of what to plant, even though you’ve read the entire text, take a walk to a nearby plant nursery – maybe you’ll see something you like right there – in vivo.
When you make your arrangement, feel free to send us a photo, and we will make a gallery of the most beautiful pictures on the site.
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