A welcome bout of glorious weather has brought out the inner gardener in Brits around the nation, but not everyone has the luxury of a large garden or allotment to work with during the growing season. Instead, they must look to container gardening to satisfy their green dreams. The self-watering planter and growing substrate specialist, Lechuza, can help urban dwellers to manifest those dreams on balconies and windowsills in cities and towns up and down the country, helping them to grow-their-own and bring the bloom of nature to their outdoor spaces.
Whether you’re dealing with a slimline Juliet balcony or a spacious rooftop terrace, have an urge to grow vegetables, cultivate geraniums or seed some wildflowers, Lechuza has a solution for your requirements.
Step 1: Seeing the Light
Before you start buying plants or planters, it’s crucial to understand your balcony’s environment, in particular the amount of light it receives at different parts of the day. Spend a day watching how light moves across your balcony. Take note of sun traps and shaded corners as these clues are essential for plant placement.
- Full sun (6+ hours/day): Ideal for sun-lovers like tomatoes, peas and fruit bushes, basil, roses, geraniums and petunias.
- Partial shade: Ferns, begonias, camelias and impatiens will thank you.
- Full shade: Hostas, ivy, and shade-tolerant grasses thrive here.
Wind chill factor
Higher floors often mean stronger winds. Counter this with sturdy planters and plenty of support:
- Strong, stable planters like LECHUZA TRIO with matching trellis will fit neatly against a wall and enable you to neatly train plants upwards, supporting climbers and enabling you to grow vertically rather than horizontally in limited space.
- Natural windbreakers like bamboo screens or tall, flexible plants like ornamental grasses will also provide a buffer against high winds.
Step 2: Getting in Gear
The right tools and containers will help demystify the process and make gardening a joy rather than a chore.
- LECHUZA BALCONERA planters are ideal for placing over railings or tucking into windowsills and other compact areas. The self-watering system means you don’t have to worry about plants drying out during dry spells, whilst removable drainage screws enable you to drain off excess water after rainy spells.
- LECHUZA’s unique mineral growing substrates are heavy enough to anchor your plants into place, whilst also offering good drainage, root aeration and delivery of micronutrients to plant roots.
- Other important gardening tools for container gardening are trowels and forks, strong gloves, sharp scissors, string or plant ties and appropriate fertiliser and feed for established plants. The right size and shape of watering can will help you top up the water reservoir of your planter when the time comes.
Step 3: Selecting Plants
Once you’ve established the light levels of your balcony you can set about the fun task of selecting suitable plants. If you’re keen to cultivate your own kitchen garden.
- Herbs such as basil, mint, thyme and chives are a good place to start, whilst plenty of sun will also enable you to grow lettuce, spinach, spring onions and other onions, which have the added benefit of producing pretty, decorative flowers if you let them go to seed.
- Strawberries will also grow beautifully in a raised BALCONERA container which helps keep them out of reach of soil dwelling slugs and snails. Larger berry plants will thank you for planting them in a large-sized TRIO 30 container, be they raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrants or something even more exotic. They will also benefit from the matching Trellis for support.
- Tomatoes and Peas will also find their ideal home in a TRIO planter, which has three separate compartments for you to grow different varieties alongside each other. Peas love to link up together for support so you can put a few in one segment and watch them grow tall and strong as the season progresses.
- Geraniums of all kinds look marvellous trailing over a balcony, whilst, pansies, primroses and spring flowering bulbs will brighten up your day every time you look out of your window onto your beautified balcony.
- Climbing roses, clematis, sweet peas and honeysuckle are perfect if your goal is to grow things upwards.
Step 4: Choosing the Best Growing Media
Different plants have different requirements when it comes to soil and nutrition. Lechuza’s range of ten different professional-quality ‘PON’ growing substrates offer a solution for most outdoor plants or houseplants, except hydroponics:
- For edibles choose nutrient-rich VEGGIEPON, which is ideal for all sorts of herbs, vegetables and fruit plants. This substrate is 100% peat-free and vegan, free of all animal products and also contains a 100% vegan fertiliser and premium plant biochar that will help your produce abundant and delicious crops. RRP £16.99 for 6 litres or £24.99 for 12 litres.
- TERRAPON is made from the same high-quality raw materials used in professional horticulture, including pumice, expanded clay and an effective fertiliser blend. The fresh organic clay naturally stores water and nutrients and provides balanced plant care, protecting against variations in water and nutrient levels and enabling plants to thrive in both dry or wet periods. TERRAPON can be used to plant nearly all house, balcony or garden plants with the exception of bog garden plants, which have special soil needs with regard to pH levels. RRP from £5.99.
- If aesthetics are your priority choose peat-free BLACKSTONEPON, which combines decorative elegance with a unique functionality that puts traditional potting soil in the shade. The pure mineral plant substrate with natural charcoal and black lava features an exceptional dark colour. It is structurally stable, supports root aeration and optimally dosed water supply. Ingredients include pumice, lava and black lava, zeolite, vegetable carbon, slow-release fertiliser (specific for indoor plants). RRP from £15.99.
With LECHUZA-PON, there’s no need for additional fertiliser for the first 6-8 months as it already contains all the essential nutrients your plants need. So, make the right choice from day one – choose PON for healthy, thriving plants with minimal effort. After this period of time you may fertiliser to keep your plant supplied with nutrients.
Step 5: Optimise your space with style
No matter how small your balcony is, smart styling makes it feel abundant. Design Tips:
- Group plants in odd numbers (3s or 5s) for a natural look.
- Mix plant heights and textures – tall at the back, trailing at the front.
- Go vertical with railing-mounted planters, trellises, or hanging planters such as the NIDO COTTAGE, BOLA or LECHUZA’s dedicated Green Wall Kits.
- For a polished look, pick a cohesive colour palette – from calming neutrals to bold tropicals.
Your four-season balcony battle plan
Each season has its own strategy. Here’s your year-round guide:
- Spring: Sow seeds, refresh soil, and re-pot where needed.
- Summer: Water, feed, prune – and enjoy the show.
- Autumn: Trim back tired plants, plant spring bulbs.
- Winter: Protect tender varieties and switch to hardy evergreens.
Tip: Use fleece or bubble wrap around pots during frost to protect roots.
Step 6: Watering
Balcony gardening isn’t about daily watering marathons, especially with LECHUZA’s self-watering systems. How it works:
- Fill the reservoir in your LECHUZA planter via the water indicator tube, which will also let you know when the water is running low – usually after a few weeks or even a few months with the larger planters.
- No overwatering means no root rot or death by drowning, just healthy plants.
- In summer, check levels more often; in rainy spells, relax – LECHUZA planters have overflow protection.
Step 7: Routine care tips:
- Deadhead flowers regularly to promote blooming and prune where needed at the right time of year, which will vary from plant to plant.
- Pinch back herbs to encourage fresh growth.
- Wipe down planters to remove dirt and stains.
- Keep your eye out for slugs, snails and other critters trying to hide under plant pots and around the sheltered sides that are out of the sun.
- Feeding: LECHUZA’S PERFECT VEGGIE fertiliser utilises special coating technology constantly releases the nutrients it contains over a period of 6 to 8 months and is therefore ideal for use in water reservoirs, without the risk of burning or over-fertilisation. This means you only have to fertilise once for an entire season! The vegetable fertiliser is suitable for all types of vegetables and herbs and is 100% vegan and harmless to animals and the environment. The high-quality nutrient formulation ensures healthy plant development and a rich harvest of excellent quality.
- Seasonally clean your planter’s reservoir to keep everything in tip top condition. Lechuza’s removable plant liners will greatly simplify this process, with minimum disruption to your prized plants.
Need more tips?
The all-new LECHUZA Academy is full of inspiration to help you get the best from your containers, indoors and out. Find out more at https://academy.thelechuza.co.uk/