No need to own a large area of land to develop a natural space. The terrace can be completely planted and transformed into a very pleasant mini-garden. From the guinguette spirit to the city garden, let’s see how to optimize this outdoor space and make it a setting in which to live.
Create a mini-garden on the terrace: the basic principles
The terrace is a relatively small space that deserves to be enhancement and that is what plants allow us to do. Whether we want to create a vegetable gardenand pleasure garden or one gourmet garden with multiple flavorsit is essential to respect certain principles so that the efforts made bear fruit and that the visual result is successful.
Draw a plan of your terrace
We report the name of the desired plants but we first find out about their size in adulthood so as not to have any unpleasant surprises. Better to preferably choose plants with limited growth.
Consider areas of shade, sunlight and local climate.
This makes it possible to meet the needs of the plants so that they flourish as best as possible. In regions with harsh winters, avoid frost-susceptible plants if they cannot be sheltered during the off-season.
Alleviate the crampedness of the terrace by visually enlarging the space
It is necessary to cheat on the proportions and especially to do not compartmentalize because it risks on the contrary making this space even smaller. We play on the color of the foliage and the transparency to give a illusion of depth to reduce the impression of crushing. It is therefore necessary to let guess a background by placing in front of warm colors and white and behind cold and dark colors. We try to keep a view of the park in the background on the horizon.
Green the walls if the ground surface is insufficient
We opt for species with trellis whose development is easy to control and which do not damage the support walls rather than for climbers with suction cups or crampons. You can also multiply the suspensions to create volume thanks to the hanging plants. Petunias, certain varieties of begonias, ivy geraniums, and ivy with variegated foliage are to be favored…
Preserve your privacy
To avoid the disadvantages of adjoining, it is crucial to create a mini-garden on your terrace which allows you to hide from prying eyes. We can create a green wall rather than erecting a plastic fence, and opt for plants whose foliage changes color with the seasons, going from a soft green in summer to ocher or red in autumn, or simply opt for fast-growing bamboos, but in this case, it is better to choose non-tracing varieties.
Choosing the right pots and soil
The containers must be suitable for the plants in terms of size, but also be able to allow them to withstand hot weather. Plants grown in pots on the terrace need a little more care than those planted in the ground. Of the water storage pots and deep enough are very useful, especially if you want to leave for a few days to discover other horizons. As to substrate, it must be able to reduce watering while retaining enough humidity. Some potting soils containing a water retainer and rich in clays are perfectly suited to the culture in potsplanters and suspensions.
What mini-garden to create on a terrace?
Everything is possible, from the vegetable garden or herb garden, to the pleasure garden via the gourmet garden. And you can even combine all these types to create a beautiful effect of opulence.
Whatever your choice, it is of course essential to maintain your garden on the terrace very regularly, such as removing faded flowers as you go so that the flowering does not run out of steam, picking the fruits as soon as they arrive at maturity, cut off dead wood or excess vine shoots. Some effort is needed to visually enjoy a sublimely vegetated terrace.
The guinguette spirit for a summer terrace
Ideal for entertaining family and friends, the guinguette-style terrace emphasizes conviviality. Creating a mini-garden there is a real good idea and care should be taken to install in the darkest corners plants with variegated foliage that bring a bright note. We do not hesitate to opt for a profusion of flowering plants such as Dipladénia, Pansy, Lobelia, Stonecrop, Petunia…
For a successful visual effect, we install space-saving garden furniture in wood or wrought iron and we create a beautiful harmony of materials and colors thanks to pots and suspensions, without forgetting lights and lanterns. It’s the kind of place where the pergola is essential to make climb a Wisteria, Clematis, a Bougainvillea, Passionflowers or even a Plumbago. Do not forget either, the bulbous ones that like planters such as narcissus, tulips, grape hyacinths, anemones, crocuses or even snowdrops.
Mini-garden of scents on a terrace
What a joy to bask on a deckchair, intoxicated by the scent of flowers. Tuberose with an exceptionally powerful fragrance, but also Jasmine, Stem rose, Mexican orange tree, Lavender officinalis, Camellia, Honeysuckle and Seringua are particularly recommended for all those who wish to enjoy a scented terrace from spring until frost. Growing this type of plant on your terrace also helps bees.
Mini vegetable garden on the terrace
If one wishes taste its vegetables and aromatic plants, nothing prevents you from creating a small vegetable garden on your terrace, in urban areas as well as in the countryside. For example, we can create wooden bins for cultivate at heighta good way to protect your back.
Different vegetable plots – on wheels is even better – can be judiciously placed, either in the sun or in partial shade, to produce your own tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, peppers, radishes, aubergines, peppers, cucumbers and even a few green beans. All grow very well in pots. Do not forget, aromatic plants of all kinds to magnify your small dishes and do yourself good. Parsley, tarragon, bay leaf sauce, basil, mint…
A gourmet mini-garden on the terrace
The terrace is a very popular place for grow fruit in pots. We therefore do not hesitate to climb strawberry plants or place them in suspension, and to enjoy them longer, we recommend planting early varieties and late varieties. A Cape gooseberry (or physalis) will be the most beautiful effect, and moreover this shrub gives small delicious berries.
Citrus fruits are also essential because they are perfectly suited to this type of environment. Fortunella (kumquat), Orange tree, Lemon tree, Mandarin tree like the sun, but must be returned in wintersome in cold greenhouse, others in hot greenhouse.
There are thousands of ways to create a mini-garden on your terrace or balcony, and it’s more and more common because this little piece of nature makes everyone feel good. What matters is make good use of all the space we have and to listen to the plants to understand their needs in water, fertilizer, light but also in sunshine or shade. The advantage of growing in pots is to be able to move a plant that does not seem to like a place. This also allows you to perfect the arrangement of the shrubs until you obtain the desired visual effect for a zero-defect mini-terrace garden.