If you’re looking for a way to spruce up your yard and give your outdoor home a lot of personality, a garden is a great idea for you. However, if you live in an apartment or in an urban location and do not have a spacious yard, having a garden might not seem like an option. Fortunately, you can create a gorgeous garden that uses little or even no floor space and beautifies even a tiny balcony with a hanging garden.
Hanging gardens are perfect for small yards and balconies because not only do they take up a very small amount of your limited space, but they also are highly customizable. You can make it look the exact way that you want, and you can also personalize it to fit your specific area and satisfy any unique needs of your home’s landscape. Here are three of our favorite types of DIY hanging gardens:
Hanging Pallet Garden
A hanging pallet garden is a great use of space. Since the wooden pallet hangs on the wall, it doesn’t take up any room on the floor, and you can then use your patio or balcony for furniture or anything else you would like. Additionally, this type of hanging garden is a great way to repurpose a wooden pallet.
To create your own hanging pallet garden, you will need a wooden pallet, sandpaper, a staple gun and staples, a hammer, nails, landscaping paper, planting soil, plants of your choice, and a ¼-inch thick medium density fiberboard (MDF). You only need the MDF if your pallet has no backing.
First, sand the wooden pallet to eliminate any rough spots. Make sure to sand all sides and edges. Next, if your pallet does not have any backing, nail the MDF onto the back of the pallet; the MDF will prevent any soil from dropping out of the back of the pallet. Staple the landscaping paper to the back, sides, and bottom of the pallet.
You can now place your pallet flat and face-up. Fill it with soil, making sure to pack it down firmly while still leaving room for your plants. Plant your seeds and plants starting at the bottom of the wooden pallet. Once you have filled your wooden pallet with plants, water them well. Leave the pallet flat and face-up for two weeks so the plants can take root in the soil. Don’t forget to water them during these two weeks!
After two weeks, you can bring the pallet upright and display your new hanging pallet garden anywhere on your balcony!
Framed Succulent Garden
Another one of our favorite hanging gardens is the framed succulent garden. This arrangement is a very unique, beautiful piece of decor that will add a lot of character and personality to your balcony without taking up any floor space at all, since it hangs right on the wall like a framed photograph!
For this project, you will need a selection of succulents. Gardening expert Cara Meyers told Better Homes and Gardens that the best types of succulents to use for a framed garden are the smaller varieties. She says, “Many hens-and-chicks, Echeveria, and sedums are great for this purpose…You won’t have to worry about them overgrowing the small space.”
To create a framed succulent garden, you will also need pruning shears, a medium or large picture frame with the glass and backing panel removed, a wooden shadowbox cut to fit the back of the frame, hammer, nails, ½-inch hardware cloth cut to fit the inside dimensions of the frame, staple gun and staples, ¼-inch plywood backing cut to fit the back of the shadowbox, soil, and a chopstick or pencil.
First, add the shadowbox to the back of the larger frame with your hammer and nails. The shadowbox will add necessary depth to the frame, forming a tray that provides more space for the soil and succulents. While the frame is still facedown after adding the shadowbox, place the hardwire cloth in the frame and staple it along the edges of the frame’s backside to secure it. Next, lay the plywood on top of the hardwire cloth and nail it to the shadow box.
Turn the frame over and add the soil, pushing it through the hardwire cloth. Make sure the soil is evenly distributed and continue adding soil until it fills the entire box up to the hardwire cloth. Once the frame is full of soil, use your chopstick or pencil to poke holes in the soil where you would like to place your succulents.
Use your pruning shears to snip the succulents, leaving a one- or two-inch stem so the snippings can take root when they are placed in the soil. Place the succulents in the holes you made in the soil. Meyers recommends placing the larger succulents first and then fitting the smaller plants around them. She also says not to worry if you can initially see the hardwire cloth poking through; as the succulents bloom, they will cover the exposed wire.
Once all the plants are placed to your liking, leave the frame flat and in shade for one to two weeks. Meyers recommends gradually increasing light exposure until the frame is in full, direct sunlight. She also says not to water it for the first two weeks. After two weeks, you can hang the frame up on your balcony wall! Make sure to use sturdy hooks. Water the succulents once per month by laying the frame flat.
Hanging Shoe Organizer Spice Garden
Another great hanging balcony garden that provides an opportunity to recycle something you may already have in your home is the hanging shoe organizer spice garden. However, if you don’t already have a shoe organizer you can repurpose, you can find inexpensive ones to use to convert into a hanging spice garden.
To create this hanging garden, you will need a cloth shoe organizer, soil or compost, herbs or plants of your choice, and a rod/hooks/nails for hanging the shoe organizer.
Decide where you would like to have your hanging spice garden. Affix the shoe organizer where you’d like it to hang using nails or screws to keep it secure.
Next, determine the shoe organizer’s drainage abilities by pouring some water in one of the compartments before putting in any soil. If the fabric does not seem to allow for adequate drainage, poke some holes in the bottom of each pocket.
Fill the pockets with soil, leaving an inch between the top of the soil and the top of the pocket. You can then add the seeds for the herbs and spices you would like in your garden. Enjoy as they grow!
Get Creative and Show Your Balcony Some Love!
Even if you have a very tiny balcony that can hardly be called a “yard,” don’t be discouraged! You can still beautify your small space with creative, charming hanging gardens that will add dimension and personality to the area without cluttering up or crowding the area.
Sources:
http://www.greenerideal.com/lifestyle/diy-gardening-how-to-create-a-vertical-wall-garden/
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/container/plans-ideas/make-a-living-succulent-picture/#page=2
http://www.birdsandblooms.com/backyard-projects/recycled-garden-ideas/shoe-organizer-herb-garden/