Renting doesn’t mean you can’t put down roots – literally. Quintain Living – the award-winning management company overseeing the rental of more than 3,390 apartments with balconies in Wembley Park, London – is encouraging residents to do just that by creating container gardens to bring colour to their balconies this summer.
Balconies are ideal for container gardening, with residents able to grow flowers, herbs, fruit, vegetables, and even small trees to bring their balconies to life. Not only can this help a rental pad feel like home, but the containers can also be easily transported if you choose to move, ensuring they pay dividends for many years to come!
Container gardening has an eco-friendly element too. Even a small oasis of greenery can be a haven for wildlife, attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
“Renting doesn’t mean you can’t come home to a beautiful space that you have created yourself. What better way to add character than by planting an array of colourful plants on your balcony? Not only will it look and smell fantastic for months on end, but planting in containers means that when you move, you can simply pick up the pots and take them with you,” said, Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living (and keen balcony gardener!)
To help residents get the best from their blooming balconies, Quintain Living has provided some top tips for creating container gardens:
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Choose the right containers
There’s no need to buy new: you can choose recycled pots such as dolly tubs or vintage garden containers such as those available at the monthly Wembley Park Antiques Market or one of the regular Quintain Living resident buy and sell sales.
Size matters when it comes to pots. It’s always better to go for something bigger as plants often grow much larger than you might expect. Larger pots also retain moisture for longer, so you’ll spend less time watering and your plants will be more likely to survive if you go away for a few days.
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Prepare your pots
If your pots don’t already have drainage holes, create a few in the bottom. Then place small pieces of broken crockery over the holes so that water won’t drain straight through.
Use a good quality potting mix with a slow-release fertiliser and remember to refresh your soil if you use the same pot for another plant.
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Plan your balcony garden
Chose herbs and vegetables that you’ll enjoy eating (or be able to swap with a neighbour). Vegetables that work well in containers include salad leaves, a whole host of herbs, beetroot, broad beans, spring onions, carrots and potatoes. If you have a sunny spot, tomatoes will thrive!
There are also some great varieties of dwarf trees ideal for balconies. You could grow apples, plums, cherries or pears and enjoy spring blossom as well as summer fruit.
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Add a splash of colour
Bedding plants such as geraniums, lobelia and petunias grow well in containers and can add a great splash of colour to your balcony. They are easy to plant, widely available and look good instantly. Keep them watered and remove dead flowers to keep them blooming.
Bigger flowering plants such as sunflowers and sweet peas will do equally well in pots. As well as looking gorgeous, sweet peas also smell wonderful. By picking them every few days, they will reward you with flowers throughout the summer. Growing your own cut flowers can save up to 7.9kg carbon per bunch compared with buying some imported bunches – and all without the need for plastic wrapping.
Flowers and other flora are a core component of the neighbourhood in Wembley Park, North West London. The balconies of Quintain Living’s residents are awash with colour and fragrance as the weather warms up. The podium gardens and roof terraces also feature a wealth of greenery. At Repton Gardens, for example, a verdant podium garden serves as the central focus for the development’s three buildings. Lawned areas with attractive borders and a central bank of mounded earth, which is home to larger trees, provide the ideal opportunity for residents to relax in a natural setting. Hireable BBQ areas with outdoor seating and two play areas provide for versatile use of the picturesque space.
Repton Gardens draws nature into the building as well. Plants are used to enhance air quality naturally, as well as to create attractive interior spaces. Natural materials and textures feature throughout the apartments and shared social spaces, delivering a sense of calm and serenity that flows throughout the building.
For more information on Quintain Living or to book a viewing, visit www.quintainliving.com, @quintainliving on Instagram or call 020 3151 1927.
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