A magnificent decoration for a country garden or balcony is an ampelous flower. Placed on a decorative trellis or hanging basket in the form of a blooming waterfall, placed in colorful arrangements, it cannot fail to attract the eye.
Ampel flowers
The word "ampel" is translated from German as "a hanging vase of flowers." All kinds of flowerpots, baskets and hanging flowerpots with greenhouse and ordinary indoor flowers adorn many terraces and balconies today.
Creating whole flowering waterfalls with their variety of colors, they give a special mood and original design to the garden, as well as to any buildings. Hanging flower arrangements are always a delight, no matter how they are placed. Even the most luxurious flower bed cannot compete in beauty and variety of colors with these shoots hanging down or creeping along the surface, strewn with many flowers.
Advantages of ampelous plants
Unlike traditional flowerbed crops, the ampelous flower has a longer flowering period. With the help of theseplants can decorate a large garden plot and make a cozy and beautiful terrace or balcony. The ability to move hanging flowerpots and baskets allows you to periodically create a sense of novelty.
Thanks to ampelous plants, you can emphasize certain parts of the garden and, conversely, decorate its nondescript elements. The care of these flowers is quite simple - it is quite enough to water them on time and feed them. Within a few weeks after planting, you can enjoy the result.
Where ampelous flowers are used
For a balcony, veranda or loggia, flowers planted in hanging baskets or special containers are most suitable. They can also decorate windows, walls and even front doors.
In the garden, ampelous plants are usually used to create hedges. They decorate gazebos, lanterns and terraces. And on city streets today you can often find ampelous flowers. The names of some of them have long been familiar - these are nasturtium, fuchsia, petunia, etc. They are planted in hanging baskets and planters at the entrance groups, along sidewalks, in squares and parks.
Types of ampelous plants
There are several forms of ampelous plants. The most basic are curly, creeping, climbing and multi-outlet. Plants that can easily climb, clinging to a net or trellis, and having tendrils or an airy root system, are called vines. These are climbing and climbing species. They are not only found in bloom. Often planted forlandscaping plants with decorative leaves, as well as shrub and herbaceous species.
The most popular among gardeners are flowering climbing plants. Flowers that freely fall down from hanging flowerpots and planters are called creeping.
The market every year presents new varieties of ampelous flowers. Among them, varieties that are resistant to diseases and weather conditions, shade-tolerant and, conversely, those that tolerate direct sunlight are in the greatest demand.
Popular varieties
It is necessary to study in more detail the features of at least the most popular varieties when choosing ampelous flowers for the garden. Their names are very numerous, so it is quite difficult to study everything at once.
Begonia is a sun-loving plant, prefers slightly acidic soils enriched with humus. Needs watering in the morning and evening.
Nasturtium is a light-loving plant that requires sandy or loamy, well-drained soil and periodic feeding with phosphorus.
Verbena is a rather unpretentious ampelous flower with a long flowering period. Grows well in full sun and well-drained soil.
Surfinia is a beautiful vigorous flower whose shoots can reach a length of more than 1 meter. Needs regular watering and feeding.
Diascia - the most suitable ampelous flowers for the balcony. Very fond of sunlight, drought resistant, but hottime they need abundant watering.
Can grow well both in the sun and in the shade of lobelia. This is an outdoor plant. Perennial varieties need shelter for the winter.
Petunia is a plant familiar to many gardeners. A variety of compositions, thanks to their various colors, allow you to create these flowers. Petunia ampelous has a rather long flowering. She is able to delight with her beauty from the beginning of summer until October. The ability to choose a plant with flowers of different sizes allows you to create a variety of compositions.
Ampelous flowers for the balcony
For the purpose of decorative landscaping of the balcony, you can also use indoor ampelous flowers, such as chlorophytum, geranium, fuchsia, balsam. For them, the absence of drafts and direct sunlight is important.
When choosing suitable varieties of flowers, it is necessary to take into account the height at which the balcony is located. Tall plants are not recommended to be planted above the 6th floor. It is difficult for them to survive due to strong winds that can break them, dry out the soil, leading to a rapid loss of moisture from the leaves. Such flowers can only be used on the balcony if it is glazed.
Daisies, nasturtiums, marigolds, pansies and other undersized flowers grow well on the open balconies located on the upper floors.
How to arrange flowers on the balcony
When compiling a project for landscaping a balcony, it is imperative to consider in which container to plant each ampelous flower and where to place it. Correct placementplants, taking into account the color, shape and size, will create a truly unique and amazingly beautiful corner. It is necessary to provide that the plants cannot block the light from each other.
Creepers look best against a wall or along a dividing wall. Pots with large plants are placed in the corners. The most common plant placement option is specially installed shelves on the sides of the balcony. They can be made from the most ordinary boards and decorated with acrylic paint or mosaics. Planters are hung along the wall at different levels.
Composition
A very beautiful solution for decorating a balcony or garden can be obtained by creating various compositions of flowers, selecting them in a variety of color combinations. At the same time, it is important to observe the principle of a cascade - tall plants are located in the background, and shorter ones are planted in the front. With a symmetrical composition, a tall plant is located in the center, while others fall from it.
The combination of orange tones from dimorfoteka planted on the sides of the box, sanvitalia placed in the center and milkweed uplifts the mood. Petunia, geranium, verbena and string look beautiful planted together.
An interesting composition is obtained from flowers of different varieties belonging to the same species. For example, from curly, ampelous and carpet nasturtiums.
Almost all ampel plants go well with each other. The main thing, when compiling such ensembles, it is necessary to take into account thatthe growth intensity of the flowers included in the composition was the same.
Features of care
Although ampelous plants are not too capricious, they nevertheless need more regular watering and top dressing than others. Moreover, the larger the container with the flower, the more often it needs to be watered. For most types of ampelous plants, this is required to be done twice a day - in the morning and in the evening.
The presence of a drainage layer in a pot is another necessary condition for the maintenance of these flowers. The function of drainage can be performed by clay shards or expanded clay. Regardless of which ampelous flowers will be planted, the container is filled with a substrate consisting of peat, sand and humus.
Feeding is best done with a special complex fertilizer designed for flowering plants in pots. They are usually added to water when watering. To protect plants from pests, it is advisable to periodically spray them with insecticidal solutions.
Care for ampelous flowers growing in an apartment is almost the same. It is important to pay attention to plants located above the rest - at this level there is less moisture, which means more frequent watering is necessary. You can spray flowers with a spray bottle or place water containers nearby, especially during the heating season.
Ampelous flowers can be a wonderful decoration of a garden or balcony. If you show imagination and a little patience, the result can amaze with its splendor and solemnity.
