Best plants for a small townhouse veranda pot garden

[houseband]

hello,

since we transferred to a small townhouse unit in the middle of the city, i miss having a garden. however, i am fortunate enough to have a small 3 x 4 square meter utility area cum veranda cum balcony in the second floor.

i was thinking of having some sort of vegetation to add color and 'nature' to an otherwise drab area.

any ideas or advice on which plants to have? am also thinking of having some baskets hanging from the veranda grill (yup... for obvious reasons - security)

i presume that these plants should be hardy and strong enough to weather the elements found in sampaloc (pollution, high humidity, lack of full day sunshine, etc)

sorry for asking too many questions ??? ;D

[2diy4]

Don't know too much about plants but in our neighborhood, many people are planting euphorbia, which are very colorful and look hardy. The old standby vinca might also be good.

Bougainvillea will probably be too large and need too much sun. A brother of mine has had success with petunia, which he plants in flower baskets under his balcony. Impatiens in one plant that grows very well in the shade. However, Manila may be too hot for this plant which shows a lot of color.

You may also want to plant some herbs. Basil doesn't grow too large and is very successfully planted in pots by another brother.

[nicolodeon]

Hi guys - newbie here and a bit of plant lover myself. Euphorbias are nice and my wife loves them very much. Hpwever, 'tis the rainy season and euphorbias don't do well with too much water. Euphorbias are more accustomed to dry weather so watering them too much or too much water over a stretch of a week would eventually kill them. I'm speaking from experience here - been dealing with euphorbias for the past two years now.

Euphorbias are good plants as suggested but you would need to bring 'em in whenever it would rain. However, the herbs suggestion is an excellent idea! You can just grab a few leaves and growth everytime you would cook something nice for dinner guests. Just imagine the sweet smell of cilantro and basil right out of your window sill.

Good luck and happy hunting. :)

[2diy4]

Houseband's question got me wondering. So I bought some soilless potting compound, some seedling trays and a packet of petunia seed. I've planted the petunia and will report on how well it grows. I may finally be also able to install the drip irrigation system I bought a long time ago.

[peklat]

i don't know anything about sa plant.... kaya i love reading this topic.... medyo iba sa akin.ty

[nicolodeon]

Houseband's question got me wondering. So I bought some soilless potting compound, some seedling trays and a packet of petunia seed. I've planted the petunia and will report on how well it grows. I may finally be also able to install the drip irrigation system I bought a long time ago.


Hey, drip irrigation! Nice! Looking forward to your updates sir. :)

[2diy4]

Thanks. Will work on the drip irrigation soon as the seeds I planted sprout. I've collected all the stuff I need specifically the drippers, the 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch PE tubes. Abangan...

[cutie42]

hi i'm new here and i'm interested in your topic. i also live in a townhouse and have petunias. these flowers especially the purple and red ones have scents during late afternoons. they smell like perfume. you have to water them everyday but not too much sunshine. may seeds din na maliliit na nanggaling sa mga buds nya na di nagbloom. dali sya tumubo and continuous pamumulaklak. ganda pag different colors which can be bought 35 to 50 php sa national seedling corp sa edsa or sa baguio and tagaytay.

[2diy4]

Thanks. Is it better to start with seedlings rather than seeds? I sowed some Yates petunia seeds last Sunday and am still waiting for the seeds to sprout.

[cutie42]

small seedlings din benta ng national seedling and also in baguio and tagaytay.

[mazdamazda]

horsetails looks good also as a decorative plant... kumander placed it in a shallow round paso and it looks nice.

though don't leave it exposed to sunshine... I learned this the hard way. ;D

[nicolodeon]

Horestail plants are nice decorative plants. There are several variants of this plant, most of which prefer wet, sandy soil although there are several species that are strictly aquatic. We had a large clay vat of aquatic horseshoe plants sometime ago but decided to get rid of the plants because the vat attracted mosquito larvae.

[EGroupInc]

hi guys newbie here and im glad to be a part of this community that shares simple know-hows on how to improve our own house and improve our ways of living.

i firstly jumped to this forums Re: Gardens since it is my passion and my life, being a Landscape Architect myself.

as it is regarding the topic, i have to say that all of your suggestions are good, but we have to "define" first the general situation of your garden in relation to your house and neighbor/s or street. is it on the rear, side or front part of your house, so you know first how to set your bounderies.

another is the architecture style of your house, like do you wanna complement the style or you wanna personalize it or both?

gardening to me is more personal, subjective rather than objective. but plants do help us somehow "solve" micro-situations in a more practical, greener and organic way.

if you want thread starter, email me pics or plan of yard and i can give you simple suggestions.

[diesoline]

Horestail plants are nice decorative plants. There are several variants of this plant, most of which prefer wet, sandy soil although there are several species that are strictly aquatic. We had a large clay vat of aquatic horseshoe plants sometime ago but decided to get rid of the plants because the vat attracted mosquito larvae.


hi nic!

if ever you decide to bring back the aquatic plants vat, drop in a single betta (aka fighting fish) too. bettas' natural food is mosquito larvae. the betta in that vat will be one happy fish!

hi EGroupInc! newbie here too. i wouldn't have stumbled into this site had tsikot not been down this morning.

[nicolodeon]

Horestail plants are nice decorative plants. There are several variants of this plant, most of which prefer wet, sandy soil although there are several species that are strictly aquatic. We had a large clay vat of aquatic horseshoe plants sometime ago but decided to get rid of the plants because the vat attracted mosquito larvae.


hi nic!

if ever you decide to bring back the aquatic plants vat, drop in a single betta (aka fighting fish) too. bettas' natural food is mosquito larvae. the betta in that vat will be one happy fish!

hi EGroupInc! newbie here too. i wouldn't have stumbled into this site had tsikot not been down this morning.


Hi diesel.

Thanks for the suggestion. I did this several times. However, the pesky neighborhood cat always ate any fish I put in. Next time, maybe I'll throw in a couple of piranhas so that the cat would be deterred from eating my fish. ;D

Just kidding.

[PapaBear]

speaking of herbs... i once had some herbs in pots at the back of the house, and those big sewer rats somehow got in and ate my herbs... reminded me of that animated movie about the rat "chef"... ;D

so now i have my herbs "elevated" to keep the peskies from having their meals in style...

off topic: plants inside the house is also very good as fresh oxygen sources, as well as getting rid of carbon dioxide... but can plants ionize the air too? i wonder...

we got some spider plants out in the yard, and we saw that info from the natgeo channel about how these plants can completely fill a house with oxygen in 24 hrs, we potted some and put 'em inside...

[Lanyanamar]

Since you are working with a small space. Try some hanging flowering plants. I like dancing lady, it has a nice drop.

[rosy]

Hi houseband, I am just reacting to your inquiries dated 06-29-07. Quite a long time already but still hoping this will help you or some of our members who have balconies or verandas that are
wanting to put some plants in them.

First of all before you attempt to buy plants for your veranda, there are some things that you have to consider like the positioning of the veranda, is its facing north, east, south or west.
Is your veranda partially covered by a roof or not., does it receive partial sunlight or full sun light or no direct sunlight at all. these are some things you will have to consider.

Why? because there are plants that survive beautifully without direct sunlight and there are plants that loves direct sunlight. I suggest you do your homework and do some research when
it comes to plant characteristics so you' ll know and have a successful small garden.

Maybe for starters may I suggest plants that gives out nice and sweet scent, plants with various
colorful leaves and plants that does not grow too tall, try visiting gardens that sells plants and ask around, inquire and learn about the plants that you have chosen.

Cheers and enjoy your plants.