Quick answer: On a balcony or in a small flat, the space you have is vertical - railings, walls, ceilings and the backs of doors. Railing planters and tension or clamp fittings need no drilling, which matters if you rent, and weight is the thing to check before anything else.
My first flat had a balcony you could just about stand sideways on. It still ended up with five things hanging off it, and none of them needed a drill.
The space is vertical
That is the whole idea. A balcony gives you almost no floor, and floor is what an ordinary pot wants. What it does give you is railings, a wall, a ceiling and often a bit of overhang - all of which are surfaces nothing else is using.
Once you start looking up rather than down, a two-metre balcony has more planting space than most people's patios use.
Railings first
The easiest win and the one most people miss. A railing planter hooks over the rail and needs no fixings at all, which makes it the obvious starting point for a rented flat.
A railing planter sits on the rail itself, and two or three along a run reads as deliberate rather than accidental. The hanging planters range covers the options.
Check which side you hang them. Outward looks better from the street and is harder to water; inward is easier to live with and you see the backs.
Walls and fences
A wall-mounted planter uses a surface that is doing nothing whatsoever, and it sits flat rather than swinging.
A semicircular wall pot projects very little, which matters in a narrow space you walk through. A pocket planter holds several plants in one fitting - the wall and fence range covers both.
Ceilings and overhangs
If you have a covered balcony or a porch, the ceiling is the best surface available - nothing bumps into it and the display hangs at eye level.
This is the one that genuinely needs a proper fixing. A ceiling hook has to go into a joist or a suitable anchor rated well above the watered weight, and it is worth being careful because anything that comes down from a ceiling comes down on somebody - the fixings guide covers doing it properly.
Weight is the number that matters
The thing to work out before you buy anything. A basket is light in the shop and heavy the moment it is watered, and the fixing has to hold the wet weight rather than the dry one.
Work on the assumption that a filled basket weighs several times what it did empty, choose a bracket or hook rated comfortably above that, and follow the manufacturer's guidance for your wall type. On a balcony there is the additional question of what the building allows - many leases have rules about hanging things over a railing.
If you rent
Three routes that leave no holes.
Railing planters, which hook over and lift off.
Tension and clamp fittings, braced rather than screwed.
Freestanding stands, which put the height in the object rather than the wall - the stands range covers those.
Adhesive hooks are the fourth option and the one I would trust least for anything that gets heavier when watered.
Wind, which balconies get more of
An upper-floor balcony is a windier place than a garden, and a swinging basket knocks against a railing all night.
Two fixes. Choose a heavier basket, which moves less. Or use a planter that sits against something - a wall pot or a railing planter cannot swing at all, which is a real argument for them over a hanging basket up high.
Indoors
The same logic with better weather. A macrame hanger from a ceiling hook, a wall pot in a hallway, or a shelf-edge planter all use space nothing else wants.
A macrame hanger is the classic indoor version and weighs almost nothing itself - the indoor range covers it, and the indoor range goes further.
Watering in a small space
Harder than in a garden, because there is usually no tap and no hose, and anything you overwater drips onto whoever lives below.
A drip tray or a self-watering insert solves the second problem. A small watering can with a long spout solves the first - the watering range covers the kit, and the watering range covers the routine.
If it is too dark or too exposed
Plenty of balconies are one or the other, and some are both. That is where artificial displays genuinely earn their place - a north-facing balcony four floors up is a difficult spot for anything living, and a faux basket looks the same in February as it does in June.
The artificial range covers those, and the artificial guide covers what looks convincing.
What we actually sell
Worth being plain about. We sell the basket, the bracket, the liner, the watering kit and the artificial displays. We do not sell live plants - those come from a nursery or a garden centre, and the advice here is about what to hang them in.
Free UK delivery over £20, £5.99 below, dispatched within 48 hours and arriving within 8 days - the delivery page has the detail.
Where to start
One railing planter or one wall pot, hung where you will see it from inside. Small spaces reward one thing done well far more than four things crammed in - the full basket range is the place to look.
The short version
- On a balcony the usable space is vertical - railings, walls, ceilings, overhangs.
- Railing planters need no fixings at all, which is the answer if you rent.
- Work out the watered weight first and choose a fixing rated well above it.
- Wall pots and railing planters cannot swing, which matters in wind up high.
- A dark or exposed balcony is where artificial displays genuinely earn their place.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have hanging baskets on a balcony?
Yes, and the space you use is vertical rather than floor - railings, the wall, the ceiling of a covered balcony. Check what your lease or building allows about hanging things over a railing before you start.
What can I hang without drilling?
Railing planters, which hook over the rail and lift off; tension or clamp fittings, which brace rather than screw; and freestanding stands, which put the height in the object instead of the wall.
How much weight will a fixing need to hold?
Considerably more than the basket weighs empty, because water is heavy. Work from the watered weight, choose a bracket or hook rated comfortably above it, and follow the guidance for your wall type.
What about wind on an upper floor?
A balcony is windier than a garden and a swinging basket knocks against railings. Use a heavier basket, or choose a wall pot or railing planter, which sit against something and cannot swing at all.
Do you sell the plants as well?
No. We sell the basket, the bracket, the liner, the watering kit and artificial displays. Live plants come from a nursery or garden centre - what we supply is everything they hang in.
