9 Balconies and City Gardens Show Signs of Spring
Daffodils, tulips, ranunculus, pansies and more bring the beauty of spring to small gardens
Lauren Dunec Hoang
March 23, 2020
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and in-house designer for Sunset's Editorial Test Garden. Her garden designs have been featured in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping, Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings (cover), Inhabitat, and POPSUGAR.
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and... More
You don’t need much garden space to get in on the fun of spring containers. A city stoop, balcony, window box or windowsill is plenty of space to bring home a bit of the magic of spring — in the form of cheery daffodils, colorful tulips and pansies, fragrant hyacinths and more. For inspiration or just pleasurable scrolling, take a look at these pretty city garden design ideas from London to San Francisco.
Remember, most bulbs (like daffodils) and corms (like ranunculus) need to be planted in fall. If you missed the boat, pick up potted blooms from your local nursery to combine with other spring favorites, like pansies, nemesias and snapdragons.
Remember, most bulbs (like daffodils) and corms (like ranunculus) need to be planted in fall. If you missed the boat, pick up potted blooms from your local nursery to combine with other spring favorites, like pansies, nemesias and snapdragons.
1. Spring Sanctuary in New York City
Narrow planters liven up this elegant New York City terrace by TRA studio Architecture, filled to the brim with the scents and colors of spring. Plants include a cheerful mix of tulips, daffodils and pansies lining the left side of the balcony. Snowy-white azaleas grow on the right side, and will continue to bloom after the bulbs have finished.
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Narrow planters liven up this elegant New York City terrace by TRA studio Architecture, filled to the brim with the scents and colors of spring. Plants include a cheerful mix of tulips, daffodils and pansies lining the left side of the balcony. Snowy-white azaleas grow on the right side, and will continue to bloom after the bulbs have finished.
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2. Balcony With a View in Sweden
With just enough room for a cafe table, two seats and a collection of small potted plants, this balcony in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city, makes the most of every square inch. Rail-mounted planter boxes elevate two plants up to eye level without blocking views of the city rooflines: pink-flowering sea thrift (Armeria maritima), which will bloom through summer, and maidenhair vine (Muehlenbeckia complexa). Other containers hold a potted olive tree, lavender and trailing ivy.
With just enough room for a cafe table, two seats and a collection of small potted plants, this balcony in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city, makes the most of every square inch. Rail-mounted planter boxes elevate two plants up to eye level without blocking views of the city rooflines: pink-flowering sea thrift (Armeria maritima), which will bloom through summer, and maidenhair vine (Muehlenbeckia complexa). Other containers hold a potted olive tree, lavender and trailing ivy.
3. Spring Fever in Chicago
For this window box for clients in Chicago, garden designer Kathy Molnar Simpson of KMS Gardens and Design stuck to a berry-tone color palette with deep purple, magenta and raspberry colors. Plants include forced tulips and hyacinths, magenta florist’s cineraria (Pericallis x hybrida), ‘Plum Pudding’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’), bugle weed (Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’), cyclamens, Delta Cool Waters Mix (Viola x wittrockiana) and wiry European meadow rush (Juncus inflexus ‘Blue Arrows’).
Designer tip: For spring containers, don’t worry much about putting a plant labeled as needing full sun in a spot with four to six hours of sunlight. “Because the season is short and most bulbs are forced, they will usually bloom no matter where they are located, as long as they get some light and plenty of water,” Simpson says.
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For this window box for clients in Chicago, garden designer Kathy Molnar Simpson of KMS Gardens and Design stuck to a berry-tone color palette with deep purple, magenta and raspberry colors. Plants include forced tulips and hyacinths, magenta florist’s cineraria (Pericallis x hybrida), ‘Plum Pudding’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’), bugle weed (Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’), cyclamens, Delta Cool Waters Mix (Viola x wittrockiana) and wiry European meadow rush (Juncus inflexus ‘Blue Arrows’).
Designer tip: For spring containers, don’t worry much about putting a plant labeled as needing full sun in a spot with four to six hours of sunlight. “Because the season is short and most bulbs are forced, they will usually bloom no matter where they are located, as long as they get some light and plenty of water,” Simpson says.
Shop for window box planters on Houzz
4. Pop of Pink
A coat of rose-pink paint combined with a collection of potted plants and fresh blooms sets this balcony garden up to be the perfect spring roost.
If you don’t have the time or energy to dress up a terrace for spring, consider bringing a bouquet of fresh spring flowers and a couple of hardy houseplants outdoors when you’re enjoying the space or hosting friends. Just be mindful that some houseplants can burn in full sun; dappled light and shaded conditions are less risky.
A coat of rose-pink paint combined with a collection of potted plants and fresh blooms sets this balcony garden up to be the perfect spring roost.
If you don’t have the time or energy to dress up a terrace for spring, consider bringing a bouquet of fresh spring flowers and a couple of hardy houseplants outdoors when you’re enjoying the space or hosting friends. Just be mindful that some houseplants can burn in full sun; dappled light and shaded conditions are less risky.
5. Wall Garden in Holland
In this garden in IJmuiden, a coastal city about an hour west of Amsterdam, a double row of wall-mounted terra-cotta pots saves floor space and maximizes charm. The design, by Studio TOOP, includes pansies in a mix of pastels alternating with strawberries.
In this garden in IJmuiden, a coastal city about an hour west of Amsterdam, a double row of wall-mounted terra-cotta pots saves floor space and maximizes charm. The design, by Studio TOOP, includes pansies in a mix of pastels alternating with strawberries.
6. Planted Pallet in London
Take a look at this pallet-turned-planter in a London garden for another clever idea for vertical gardening. After turning the pallet vertically and anchoring it to your fence, you could staple landscape fabric to the insides of the crossbeams to create planting pockets. Here, the designer has filled the pockets with pansies for spring.
Take a look at this pallet-turned-planter in a London garden for another clever idea for vertical gardening. After turning the pallet vertically and anchoring it to your fence, you could staple landscape fabric to the insides of the crossbeams to create planting pockets. Here, the designer has filled the pockets with pansies for spring.
7. Vibrant Entry in Chicago
Handsome ceramic containers filled with vivid orange and pink spring blooms make for a welcoming entry in Chicago. The container garden, designed by Kathy Molnar Simpson, includes papery Maché Pink and Maché Orange ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus), Fire Light panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata), forced tulips, lemon cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa cv.), English ivy (Hedera helix), Nesia tropical nemesia (Nemesia hybrida) and Spring Matrix deep orange pansy (Viola x wittrockiana). Birch branches and fantail willow branches add height and texture.
Handsome ceramic containers filled with vivid orange and pink spring blooms make for a welcoming entry in Chicago. The container garden, designed by Kathy Molnar Simpson, includes papery Maché Pink and Maché Orange ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus), Fire Light panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata), forced tulips, lemon cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa cv.), English ivy (Hedera helix), Nesia tropical nemesia (Nemesia hybrida) and Spring Matrix deep orange pansy (Viola x wittrockiana). Birch branches and fantail willow branches add height and texture.
8. Urban Balcony in Sweden
A second garden in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows how a combination of cozy accessories and potted spring blooms can make hanging out in often chilly spring weather more enjoyable.
A bold outdoor rug not only brings in a dose of pattern but cuts down on dampness, while sheepskins and throw blankets draped over chairs help warm up cool surfaces.
Potted boxwood, tangerine-colored ranunculus and African violets (Saintpaulia sp.) set a spring theme.
A second garden in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows how a combination of cozy accessories and potted spring blooms can make hanging out in often chilly spring weather more enjoyable.
A bold outdoor rug not only brings in a dose of pattern but cuts down on dampness, while sheepskins and throw blankets draped over chairs help warm up cool surfaces.
Potted boxwood, tangerine-colored ranunculus and African violets (Saintpaulia sp.) set a spring theme.
9. Scent of Spring
If you don’t have any outdoor space but want to bring a bit of the beauty and fragrance of the season indoors, try picking up potted bulbs like narcissi or hyacinths just as they’re forming buds.
Keep them in the plastic nursery pots, hiding the rims with preserved moss, as was done in this San Francisco home. Then enjoy watching the flowers open and smelling their citrusy fragrance as they perfume the room.
If you don’t have any outdoor space but want to bring a bit of the beauty and fragrance of the season indoors, try picking up potted bulbs like narcissi or hyacinths just as they’re forming buds.
Keep them in the plastic nursery pots, hiding the rims with preserved moss, as was done in this San Francisco home. Then enjoy watching the flowers open and smelling their citrusy fragrance as they perfume the room.
Your turn: How do you make the most of a city garden or small space to enjoy the spring season? Show us in the Comments.
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We live in the city with a small balcony. Everything gets dirty fast! Plants get beat down with the sun and concrete, and the HOA doesn’t allow anything to be attached to the railing or go higher that a railing unless it is free standing. Nothing looks good for long, and you have to wash it down before you can actually use it🙁
Becky Harris....love the bottle tree. I live where elk, deer, bunnies, antelope....you name it,, they eat it. So, I also have a bottle tree as well as glass towers, and painted bottles on rebar "planted" along my fences. They are my bottle hollyhocks. I can put a few flowers out in planters right next to my doors and they seem to be safe, but bottles really help to give color to my wild land.
Bottles bloom summer or winter!