balcony garden - taman cinta

L-shape brings the meaning LOVE for our 'taman cinta'

One of the great things about gardening is how flexible the nature of our garden can be. We do not need a large yard; in fact we do not need a yard at all.

If we have a balcony, there is an opportunity to design a garden that is just right for that space. ye la kann kita tinggal kat apartment ..quarters kerajaan lak tuh...

First and possibly the most important step is to ask ourselves, how much time do we have to spend taking care of the garden? tapi poket pun kena tanya gak... cukup bajet tak? nantikan makan mee segera lak....Balcony gardens usually take the form of plants in containers such pots, bekas-bekas detergent cam Dynamo ke Diaya ke pun boleh gak..pas tu potong dua..boleh jadi pasu... and may actually require more attention than a backyard garden does.

Balconies can be hot, dry and windy spots and this means that our plants will need to be watered frequently. We will also need to check on them regularly to determine if watering or other attention is required. Pests and diseases can affect the balcony garden.

The second determination we will need to make is how much sunlight the balcony receives. This, in part, determines what we can grow... and me, my attention more to caladium or keladi or people call yam too. If our balcony is heavily shaded then most vegetables are out but shade plants are in...and keladi is much suitable.

This is where the right plant, right place guideline comes in handy. We place a plant in the location where its needs are met and that plant will flourish, if something is lacking, water, soil, food, then the plant may die or languish. So select our plants with knowledge and care....keladi la senang skit nak jaga... sometimes these plants come with flowers too.

Now that we know the light conditions, we can decide how much space we want to allow for the garden. We will need room to move around to care for and harvest. What else do we use our balcony for?

The last question is, are we growing herbs, vegetables, fruit, yes we can grow dwarf variety of plants or trees on a balcony, if the conditions are right, or ornamental.

Once we have answered all the questions we can draft our garden plan. This does not need to be elaborated, a pencil sketch on a piece of paper will do. Simply indicate where the plants will go and be sure to include anything else that may be on our balcony, chairs or fountain for examples.

water falls from the bamboo to the container and guppies are in

The plan is not craved in stone and we can make adjustments as we go; it is designed to keep our focused and not to get carried away.It is easy enough to buy more plants than we can use, if the budget permits, when we visit a garden centre or nurseries .

It can be difficult to resist some of the floral beauties that are teasing us into taking them home. Use our garden plan to develop a plant list and do our best to stick to the list. It can be helpful to talk with the garden centre manager or a horticultural expert and explain our plan, before buying...or just our friends who like and know about this... or we just surf and browse through this, sure we will get the answers too.

Balcony gardening is as rewarding as any other form of gardening as long as we follow the few simple steps that I have mentioned. Most importantly, have fun gardening is a joy not a chore.

joe:I have seen desk waterfalls for sale, and of course plans. But I'm thinking almost a mini-tank with a few water plants, with a waterfall that falls into it, with rocks around it... this is my balcony garden which i named it 'taman cinta'.. to know why ... we will find it out then....cheerio