During the warmer months we like to spend time on the balcony, catching the sunshine and growing lots of plants. But winter doesn’t have to mean your balcony will sit empty. Use our ideas for decorations that look beautiful this time of year.
Winter is not an easy time for plants. Many of them can’t tolerate low temperatures, frost, snowfall or lack of sunlight. Fortunately, we don’t have to fear that our balcony will look deserted. Yes, seasonal plants need to be moved to a warmer place and patio furniture needs to be hidden in the basement or covered with a cover and pushed into a corner. However, this only gives us room to put up new winter decorations. We present the most interesting proposals that will work both for a small balcony and a spacious terrace.
There’ s no need to completely abandon plants on your balcony during the winter months. All conifers and evergreen shrubs will do just fine. You can put dwarf pines, small firs and spruces and even thuyas (only those intended for container cultivation). Coniferous twigs look very impressive and their green will enliven the whole space. It will be even better if they are covered with a delicate layer of snow.
As far as evergreens are concerned, not only conifers but also deciduous plants can be grown outdoors; importantly, they do not shed their beautiful leaves and can be enjoyed all year round. You just need to remember to protect them from frost – wrap the containers with straw, Styrofoam or cardboard, and the aboveground parts with jute or non-woven fabric in a green shade, for example.
Low temperatures, frozen and snow-covered ground is not favourable for birds, which may have problems with finding food. A great way, and at the same time a perfect decoration of the winter balcony, is a decorative bird feeder. It doesn’t have to be big at all.
Just remember that the bird canteen should be equipped only with seeds which will not harm their health – ready mix from the pet store or seeds of sunflower, corn, oats, millet, dried fruit, nuts or pork fat for titmice. Popular bread is not a good idea.
As you know, in the colder months the days are definitely shorter and it quickly gets dark outside. Therefore, it is time to decorate your balcony with various types of lights, the glow of which will beautifully reflect in the windows and fall into our house.
There are many ways to create an atmospheric mood. For example, you can wrap a string of lights around the balustrade or arrange a composition of lights on the conifers mentioned above.
Tip: If you’re short on space and want a big Christmas tree, put it out on the balcony and decorate it as you like with lights, baubles and chains. Remember when buying lights to choose those that are designed for outdoor use. Of course, you can also be tempted by various figurines during the Christmas season – a snowman or Santa Claus.
Coming back to the lights, lanterns will also create an amazing atmosphere. You can put two-three pieces of different sizes in the corner, put a safe led candle (powered by electricity) in each one and leave it like that or add other decorations, such as pinecones, green branches or chestnuts left over from autumn. Candle light is very atmospheric and will look beautiful after dark.
Low temperatures aren’t so bad after all. The balcony will easily serve as an additional larder for those few months. You can store, among other things, vegetables or fruit here. It’s best to put them in decorative wooden or painted boxes.
Such decorative boxes will also serve great to store food, which for example during the holidays does not fit into the refrigerator. Such decoration not only looks beautiful, but is also very practical and makes that we do not have to waste food.
