If you’re a city dweller and are fortunate enough to have access to a little roof or balcony space, you have the unique opportunity to create an oasis garden in the midst of all the concrete. Creating garden and landscaping ideas in areas like these can be a challenge due to severe winds and direct sun. However, with careful planning and planting you can create a screen to block much of the wind, and some shade, either manmade (screens, awnings, canopies) or natural, to give protection from the worst of the sun.

The first step in planning a garden like this is to research how the building is constructed. Take the time to find out what materials the roof or balcony is made of and how it is constructed and put together. A balcony can be a very small and limited area. if it’s planned to be loaded with containers and their contents which can be very heavy, it has to be able to hold the weight. To prevent leaks, small gardens that are placed on roofs should be completely water proof as well as have proper drainage. if it is going to be easily accessed and enjoyed, there should be a safe way to get to the roof or balcony garden.

It’s probable that there will be utility poles and wire in and around the area of your roof top garden. With the right plant placement, these can be masked or hidden. Small planters, pots, and containers filled with flowers and plants will help make the atmosphere in the garden while bigger container plants can do the same and also create a green screen to keep out neighboring views. Roof top gardens are the same as any small garden designs, patio design, and courtyards, in the sense that you should try not to crowd the small amount of space that you have. A nice view should be framed rather than destroyed by a rooftop jungle as well as making sure there is room for somewhere to sit and enjoy it.

Long wooden planters will spread the load and are preferable to using many small round pots. It’s a good idea to also add water absorbing crystals into your planting medium. This can help lessen your plants daily watering as they hold water until plants need it and it all doesn’t just evaporate. You may also want to consider hydroponics if the roof is unable to hold much weight. And since plants grown hydroponically require only a liquid medium, the pots weigh a lot less than containers filled with soil.

Your roof or balcony garden is also a good place to keep a small wormery or a bokashi system, so your precious plants can benefit while you are disposing of household waste in a way that is both useful and ecologically sound.

Organic gardens involve the use of all-natural compost, garden tools and pest deterrents. When you’re flower gardening, you may want to consider creating an ecosystem where wildlife and other animals can thrive. Perhaps you enjoy the wonderment of walking through the garden and seeing ladybugs, praying mantises, dragonflies, hummingbirds and butterflies enjoying your natural creation as much as you do. Here are some gardening tips to create an enduring, wildlife-friendly garden.

If you are considering designing a garden that will draw song birds, then you can incorporate several special shrubs, annuals, perennials, cultivated and native foliage to draw them to your backyard. By raising plants from each group, you can provide fruits and seeds for all seasons to keep the birds singing throughout the year. Be sure to add a bird bath and toss seeds around in the wintertime to keep your bird family happy.

Furthermore, consider the fact that, as well as your blooms, birds like trees for protection, nesting and cover from the elements. Sometimes the trees even supply food including berries, sap and seeds. You can consider leaf bearing trees including hazelnut, American mountain ash, chestnut, dogwood, red mulberry, black walnut and sassafras, along with evergreen trees including blue spruce, American holly, red cedar California juniper, ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and white cedar.

Flower gardening is an important source of food for sparrows, finches and other songbirds. You can try perennials like penstemon, tickseed, bee balm, goldenrod, cosmos, purple coneflower and four o’ clocks, or you may try annuals like sunflowers, asters, bachelor’s button, spider flower, snapdragons and cockscomb. Garden guides also recommend planting shrubs and vines where birds can hide from predators and seek out food. Some tasty plants (like cherries and raspberries) are preferable to our flying friends, but they’re picked clean in a hurry. On the other hand, birds can be seen feasting all year long on elderberries, blackberries, huckleberries, chokecherries, bayberries, Oregon grapes, beauty-berries, silver-berries, blueberries, crab apples, cranberries and currants all year long.

Naturally, flower gardening to attract both hummingbirds and butterflies is ideal. Gardening tips suggest incorporating bee balm, California fuschia, salvia, columbines, daisies, sunflowers, marigolds, zinnias, peas, clover, mint, milkweed, parsley, violets and pansiesthe to increase your odds of keeping these creatures nearby. Nature stores also sell very effective red and yellow hummingbird feeders that these little winged beauties just love. Since hummingbirds can be pretty territorial, you might want to set up more than one in different locations around the yard if you notice the birds are coming to your home.

Your house may be beautiful, but if the surrounding area isn’t well maintained, it ruins the whole effect. Home gardening can make a tremendous difference in the appearance of your property. Visit the Landscaping Ideas site for some fabulous ideas to add class and style to your property.

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