Beautiful Balcony Flowers – When people think of Austria in summer, they think of a chocolate box scene with wooden homes and hotels, filled to bursting with a huge array of flowers cascading from the balconies.
Austria is famous for many things, but the beautiful balcony flowers will feature in most visitors’ photographs, and they will comment on them multiple times a day during their visit.
I live in Tirol, and there are very few buildings in our resorts that don’t have an amazing display of the most beautiful flowers that you will not see in any public gardens. But don’t be fooled that they are easy to look after, and everyone gets it right each summer.
Our first attempt
When we moved to Austria, my husband decided that we would have balcony flowers. We went to the garden centre and spent a large amount of money on red and white geraniums, as they seemed to be the most commonly used and looked very striking.
We bought decent soil and set about planting them in the boxes and then watering them. Unfortunately, within 2 weeks, our 8 balcony boxes were all dead or dying, as we had literally drowned them all.
Since then, Pete has mastered balcony flower growing. Every year, we mooch around the garden centre in May, choosing an assortment of different colours and flower varieties. We don’t limit our flowers to the balcony but plant them in wooden barrels and large pots, which we have on our terrace and by our front door. They are really eye-catching and make us smile every day.
The secret to keeping them alive is not overwatering! Protecting them when summer storms are on the way in case there is hail. Feeding them as needed and deadhead them frequently. My favourite job after dinner on warm evenings is to wander around the outside of the house, making sure the flowers are looking their best. We are lucky to have lovely neighbours who water them when we are away on our bike tours.
It is not the law!
When I was young and very gullible, I was once told that it was law in the tourist villages to have balcony flowers; otherwise, they would receive a fine. I then included this as part of my speech when I was on the coaches with guests during tours. I apologise to anyone who was on my excursion coaches; this is a complete load of rubbish!
My favourite spot in the world
I love to sit on our terrace with my morning coffee, listen to the buzz of the worker bees doing their job, and watch the range of colourful butterflies gorging themselves on the nectar. There is nothing quite like it, and it provides the backdrop for our own little oasis.
Many people have balcony flowers because they take pride in making their homes and hotels look gorgeous and welcoming to guests from around the world. Others, like us, just do it to enjoy the benefits of having a beautiful garden.
Whatever the reason, it makes the Austrian resorts and villages look spectacular in the summer and provides an excellent framework for many of my photos when I am on the bike.
