7 Best Evergreen Plants for Your Balcony Garden

[[pflanzen]]

++Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)

The beautifully shaped, dark green leaves of the evergreen Candytuft grow to about an inch and a half long and stay put all through the winter months. From April to late May, this plant is a blooming machine, showing off clusters of white, pink, or red flowers that look like tiny bows. If you give it a full-sun spot, it creates lush cushions that drape picturesquely over the edges of your window boxes. This sun-loving plant is surprisingly drought-tolerant and wonderfully low-maintenance.

++Wintergreen / Checkerberry (Gaultheria procumbens)

It’s not just the glossy, dark green foliage of the hardy Wintergreen that brightens up a winter balcony; those bright scarlet berries are real showstoppers, too. Because the berries contain essential oils that birds usually avoid, the fruit stays on the plant as decoration well into spring. This low-growing dwarf shrub thrives in partial shade. If your balcony is on the sunny side, just make sure to keep it well-watered in the winter, as it loses a lot of moisture through its leaves.

++Winter Heath (Erica carnea)

Unlike other heathers, this branched dwarf shrub features needle-like rolled leaves with light-colored edges. Its bell-shaped flowers come in shades of white, pink, red, or purple. In a sunny to partially shaded spot, you’ll often see the first buds—which grow along just one side of the stem—appearing as early as December and lasting through April. Since they are packed with nectar, they serve as a vital early-season food source for hungry bees and insects.

++Creeping Phlox / Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata)

Thanks to its low, creeping habit, evergreen Moss Phlox is a fantastic choice for balcony gardening. The needle-like leaves keep their vibrant color all winter long. Starting in April, a dense carpet of flowers in white, pink, lilac, or lavender-blue covers the plant. In a sunny spot, it produces a massive amount of buds and forms attractive mats that can cascade up to a foot over the edge of your planters.

++English Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

Holly isn’t just a classic Christmas decoration; it’s a fantastic year-round plant. Compact Holly varieties like “Heckenzwerg” (Hedge Dwarf) do very well in containers on a partially shaded balcony. The oval, prickly leaves stay green all winter. In May and June, small white to cream-colored flowers appear, which eventually turn into those iconic bright red berries by autumn.

++English Ivy (Hedera helix)

Lush ivy can transform your balcony into a green oasis 365 days a year. There are so many varieties to choose from, ranging from the classic dark green with light veins to newer cultivars with yellow or gold variegation. Ivy uses aerial roots to climb, so it can cover walls on its own. However, since it can be a bit of a pain to scrape off siding later, it’s often best to let this trailing beauty grow along a trellis or spill out of a hanging basket.

++Bamboo

Bamboo grows beautifully in large pots and creates an evergreen, Zen-like privacy screen. The stalks (culms) are divided into regular segments and have a natural waxy coating that protects them from the elements. The narrow leaves are a juicy bright green and rustle softly in the slightest breeze. For balconies, look for hardy dwarf bamboo varieties that top out at around five feet.

%%Hardy Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica)

Our “secret tip” is the Hardy Fuchsia! Originally from the Peruvian Andes, where it grows at altitudes of up to 5,000 feet, this plant is tougher than it looks. On a sheltered balcony in milder regions, it stays evergreen and keeps its lovely foliage through the winter. It has a graceful, bushy growth habit that fits perfectly in balcony boxes. From July to October, it’s covered in delicate, two-tone bell flowers in crimson and violet, featuring long, elegant stamens that look absolutely charming.