I have a small balcony and know nothing about plants - what can I plant in pots?

[MushroomTree]

As per the title really. I live in a first floor flat with a small balcony at the front.

I need something hardy that doesn't require too much effort. Maybe some herbs? A rose? Are they difficult to keep alive?

I also wondered about a biggish pot for something climbing?

Any ideas and tips gratefully received! The outside of my flat is all very ugly and grey at the moment.

Tell us more about the balcony ,does it get much sun ? All day sun .morning sun ,evening sun ?

Is it exposed to much wind ?

I like lots of foliage and in containers I have artemisia limelight which is ,evergreen and I just trim it when it's getting to big

You could also have ornamental grasses www.richardjacksonsgarden.co.uk/five-great-grasses-containers/

geraniums are good ,easy to manage ,like sun and will tolerate forgetting to water

convolvulus cenoerum is an easy evergreen shrub with loads of white flowers

The plants I've mentioned need big pots ,up to your knee I'd say ,but I'm so not an expert .And I really hate pots that are too small for their setting .You can get perfectly acceptable plastic ones from Homebase/Wilko.Poundstretcher .

And what sort of compost you use ,drainage etc is a whole subject .

I mix vermiculite into my compost to keep the compost from getting compacted and retain water and keep the pot a bit lighter .

You'll probably need saucers to go under the pots .

Thanks for the reply. I think it's South East facing. Morning sun. And quite windy as we're higher up and very open

I’d look at getting deep plastic oblong planters from the garden centre. They are less likely to blow around in the wind, you can put several plants in at a time and they’ll need less watering ( won’t evaporate so much)
Also, plant some small evergreens, so that you have structure as a background for your flowering annuals.
Can you attach some trellis to a wall? A summer Jasmine would give lovely scent, is easy to grow and responds to pruning, so would not be too invasive.
Have a look on Pinterest for balcony planting ideas. It sounds a lovely project.

Google Vertical Veg! There's a Facebook page too. Really inspirational for small spaces.

I have blueberry plants in pots - thy have done really well so far, in a very windy, south-facing spot on my patio. I think Spartan did best last year for fruit. They have really pretty small white blossoms and lovely red foliage in autumn so lots of interest all year (apart from winter!). They need ericaceous compost.

Also google bulb lasagne - layering up lots of bulbs so you could steady succession of spring flowers. Then you can put other plants on top. I have some kind of grass and a skimmia and some ivy on top of my tulip bulbs in a pot, so it’s been nice and green all winter and now the bulbs are starting to come through for spring. Not one for this time of year though - you’ll have to wait to the autumn.

Thank you for your replies everyone.

Blueberries would be ideal as DD loves them so she'd really enjoy us growing them at home.

Thanks for the tips about compost and pots. I really am clueless and all the info about which plants need which compost just confuse me

Try not to be too overwhelmed by compost . A few plants need what they call eircaceous soil ,but the label on the plant should say that ,or google it .
The majority don't need that .

There's lots of compost labelled for containers .I use a John Innes nos 3 because my containers are quite large and I don't repot very often .

But there may be other suggestions from ppl with more experience .

Alpine strawberries are lovely and very hardy. My blueberries are hit and miss but a gardener friend has recommended lingonberries (although they are tarter than blueberries) and I've got a new miniature mulberry plant...

Next question, can I plant anything in the same pot as a rose? Or do they prefer to be on their own?

I plant annuals around my roses that are in pots. Marrigolds, annual Begonias, and Pinks do well.

Thanks Beebumble.

I wanted something pretty in the pots until the roses flower. Otherwise it's just going to look like I've got a big pot of twigs by my front door!

For your Rose I would choose either a half standard or miniature roses. My preference would be the miniatures as they are easy to control and give a long season. Shrub roses in a pot are possible. I have done this, but I cut away the long tap root. Roses need a lot of feed in pots and changing the soil every couple years. If you have a little one, you need to buy a thornless Rose.

You can plant a mixture of summer and winter bulbs in the pots for interest year round or shallow rooted plants like thyme.

My preference would be to grow rosemary, lavender and chocolate mint in your pot. If you buy a well established Rosemary it will give your plants wind protection. For prettiness and good value, you cannot go,wrong with Nasturtium. You can put the leaves in salad and the more flowers you pick the more you get. My children loved Nigella seeds. Once the flowers have finished they form an amazing seed head which they called Cinderella coaches. Easy seeds for the little one to plantmare calendula as, like nasturtiums they are large and give quick results.

These are Nigella seed heads, it is also called love in a most

Thanks Florentina

Any idea where I can find chocolate mint? You jogged a memory that I grew some as a child and it smelled divine, but I haven't seen it in a shop for years.

Sarah raven on line does lots of mint.

Just to strike a note of caution. Very big pots full of compost are heavy. Especially when wet. So bea4 that in mind if it’s not a v sturdy balcony. Weigh pots down with bricks as you don’t want them to go fly8ng when it’s windy.

Herbs and salad leaves are excellent.

I buy my herbs from Jekka Herbs or the Victorian Herb garden

Thanks for the tips.

When I say balcony I mean patio outside my flat which is above a shop, so I hope it's sturdy!