I enjoy corresponding with Shanthni Balu online. Her mails always carry a line in the beginning or the end that refers to flowers.
“Flowers speak to us when we are ready to listen to them. Its a subtle and fragrant language”....The Mother
“Flowers are the music of the earth” - Marty Rubin
Not surprising, I realise when I visit her terrace and balcony. The experience is enough to enthuse the most disinterested of gardeners. Even me. When she says, “There is nothing like watching birds, bees and butterflies in your garden everyday,” I believe her and want to do the same back home. Shanthni says ‘No problem. It is not difficult at all.”
Choose your space
Choosing the right house plants and keeping them healthy is easy. All you need to do is assess the space available, ensure there is enough sunlight and air, select the right plant and the soil media. When you start enjoying your plants, watering and caring for them becomes the easiest thing.
Depending on space, place the plants in planters. You can place them along the wall, or if space is limited you can go vertical by fixing shelves on the wall at different levels and placing your flower pots on those. Planters in different shapes and sizes with seasonal flowers looks lovely from both outside our home and inside.
There are a choice of vertical planters,cane baskets, wooden planters, plastic pots, stone trough, hanging baskets, terracotta containers, etc. that are available. But even the containers you have at home are fine to start with.
The ideal flowering plants
There are annual as well as perennial flowering plants that are easy to maintain. Annual flowering plants are seasonal. They bloom in season and then die. These are flowers planted during the season, they bloom for a while and then die, eg: marigold, balsam and cosmos. Perennial flowers are those that continue to grow and bloom year after year. These are flowers such as roses, hibiscus and Ixora.
The best plants for the balcony are those that do not grow very high nor have deep roots. Choose plants keeping in mind where you are going to position them. Sunlight helps in plant growth through the process of photosynthesis. The amount of sunlight that yourplant receives plays an important role in planning what to plant. East and west facing balconies offer a balance of sun and shade and suit many plants. For sunny balconies annuals like petunias, verbena, geranium, portulaca, salvia, dahlias, marigold and crossandra work well. For a more shady balcony choose flowers such as coleus, begonias, peace lily, geraniums,l emon grass, lavender, gardenia and poinsettia.
Five easy growing plants
Ixora, roses, peace lily, bougainvillea and marigolds. Peace lily purifies the air. And marigolds and bougainvilla require very low maintainence.
For the freshest, prettiest garden in your veranda:
Keep leaves dusted, wiping them with a damp cloth from time to time, if practical.
Remove faded blooms and deadheads to keep flowering house plants looking alive
Add manure which you make from kitchen waste and add them once in a month.
Reposition the plants from time to time.
Potting mix : Mix red soil, dry organic manure in equal portion. Lay some broken bricks in the planter , plant the desired plant and fill with prepared soil media. Water it so it's moist always.
