If you have a balcony, however small, consider yourself lucky. Treat it like a retreat for yourself - away from the rest of your house. With a couple of artefacts and plants you can decorate your balcony, making it a sight to behold.

Sneh Prasar is an expert with plants and is involved with training of special children in gardening projects at National School for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped (NASEOH), Chembur, Mumbai.  “You can grow a plant in almost anything. A mug whose handle has broken, a bowl thats chipped, terracotta containers which are available for just Rs 5 onwards and add life to any space. Some of the most popular plants that are hardy also are asparagus, red dracaena, chlorophytum, ferns. If you are a beginner, don't try to grow exotic species, try your hand at easy-to-grow plants.”

Before getting down to designing your balcony with greenery, take a look at what are the opportunities for enhancing the space. You could be a novice but if you have an eye for detail then it's not a difficult task.

Check for the following details:

1.  Is your balcony a square, rectangle or semi-circle in shape? Where do you plan to place the plants: on one side, all sides or two sides? Which levels do you  plan to place the pots - ground, eye level or waist level.
2.  Is the balcony open or closed? If closed then you must have shade loving plants, while an open balcony is great for flowering plants.
3. What are the items that you have kept in it? Don't use a balcony and the grills as a dumping area .
4. Do you plan to use the space for drying clothes? If yes, then keep aside some space cleverly for plants, don't utilise the entire area as a utility area.
5. Do you have a grill already or plan to install one? If you have grills already, make sure they are not rusting. If you plan to install them, then choose a design that complements your plants.
6. What is the view from the balcony and which part of the balcony is visible from the living room/bedroom. If you have a great view from your balcony then try not to meddle with it too much. The part that is visible from inside the house must be beautified.
7. If you are placing plants at the floor level, then you must buy pots of varying heights.

Now for the plants:

If you like flowering plants, then first check how much sunlight your balcony gets. Sneh Prasar advises, “If you have more than four hours of sunlight, only then invest in flowering plants. Adenium is a slow growing plants with a thick, shapely trunk, while poinsettias (christmas plants) have bright red flowers and are very attractive. Colourful crotons are also a good choice as they are tough plants.”

Ramchandra Patil, horticulturist at Go Green, a nursery at Panvel adds, “ For hanging baskets the best choices are pillea, china rose, begonia, epecia, gynura. If you want table top plants then bonsai is a good choice or landscapes which are three-four varieties of plants grown together in a flat tray. But these are advisable for those are experts with plants.”

When buying pots to hang buy plastic pots and check if they can take the weight of the soil. Some of the best choices in hanging plants are ferns, asparagus, spider grass. “As a beginner you must be ready to experiment. Just fill up any container with soil, make sure there is a drainage hole and plant any sapling that you fancy. This way you can build up your own collection. As the plants keep growing you can repot them in other containers,” adds Prasar.

Explore all levels of height where you can place pots and artefacts. If you have a large area, you can experiment with a couple of large pots or a plenty of small containers of interesting shapes.

• Have hooks installed to hang terracotta bells, windchimes, lamps.
• You can add rocks, pebbles and driftwood to enhance the décor.
• A bird bath will attract a variety of birds into your balcony. Make sure you change the water every day.

If you have space, then add a chair or two alongwith a small table to have your tea surrounded by greenery. Just one rocking chair or swing also will do, for total relaxation.

Watering and drainage
If you don't receive harsh sunlight, water the plants just once a day, very gently making sure the soil doesn't flow out. If you are a novice, then water the plant only when the topsoil is dry. Also check where the water will drain out. Wherever possible keep plates below the pot for excess water to collect.

Herbs
You can also grow herbs like basil (tulsi), curry leaves, lemon grass, coriander pudina, in pots in your balcony.  Besides looking beautiful they are useful too!

Easy to grow plants
“If you are not a person with a green thumb, then buy plants that grow in water. Money plant, draceaena (good luck bamboo) grow in water. Ficus is a hardy plant and has many varieties,” advises Sneh Prasar. “Moss sticks too are a boon for those who tend to forget watering their plants. You can grow a money plant with the help of a moss stick which slowly releases moisture to the plant.”

How to go about beautifying your balcony:

1. After you have thoroughly inspected your balcony, make notes of all your requirements: Number of pots, types of plants, artefacts required.
2. Go to a local nursery and buy healthy looking plants. Don't buy too many only a little less that what you require as this will give you the opportunity to experiment.
3. Place the pots and don't hesitate to mix and match and rearrange till you get the best display.

Handy tools for a balcony garden

1. A pair of scissors or two. Snip brown, yellow leaves on a daily basis so that the display is all green.
2. A bagful of soil, fertiliser to use as and when required.
3. A set of garden tools - a small rake, a sieve, etc.
4. Always keep a set of extra pots - plastic or terracotta in case you fancy a plant anywhere you can plant it immediately.