Gardening is a healthy hobby. Some benefits of getting your hands in the dirt and growing things include an improved mood, more exposure to vitamin D from the sun and even a decreased the risk of dementia. But not everyone has the desire, location, skill or physical ability to implement a full-scale garden in the yard. House decks and home screen rooms can provide ideal locations for container gardening, which provides many of the benefits without the time and expense required for larger gardens.
Find out below whether a home screen room or house deck may be the best choice for your garden planting goals.
When a Screen Room Is Best for Potted Plants
A screen room may be the best bet for container gardening if you live in an area where wildlife or bugs are going to be a serious threat to your plants. Deer will munch on green veggies and flowers, and rabbits and squirrels can also damage your crops, even when you’re raising them in flower pots. Keeping your potted plants behind the safety of the screen can keep a lot of pests out.
However, you do have to consider how much sun your plants will get. If your screen room faces due east or west, you may get a good amount of morning or afternoon sun falling inside. Plants that grow well with four to six hours of sunlight or in indirect light are often good choices for screen rooms.
You’ll also have to remember to water your plants regularly since they obviously won’t get the benefit of rain within your screen room. That can be a benefit for you, though, because you can easily tend your garden at any time without worrying about mud or wet grass.
When a Deck Is a Better Choice for Your Garden Planters
Home decks provide an elevated, dry space for you to tend to your garden pots, but they’re more open than a screen room. If pests or wildlife aren’t a huge concern, this can come with some benefits, the biggest of which is the amount of sun your plants will get. As long as you don’t have a roof over your deck, your plants will get plenty of sun throughout the day. That expands your options for the types of plants you can grow.
You can also create container gardens that self-drain on your home’s deck, which is something less possible in a screen room. Then, you can rely on rain to water the plants on days when it storms, reducing some of the work of gardening. An open deck also lets you grow taller plants — it’s even possible to cultivate small trees in pots — and you can use the railings as trellises for running vines of flowers or produce.
Make sure you’re aware of how trees and your home shade your deck during the day when choosing plants for your garden. Some plants require plenty of direct sunlight, and if the deck of your home is in cooling shadow much of the day, these would not be the ideal choice for your garden.
We Offer Free In-Home Design Consultations
If you’re a Maryland or Virginia resident and are looking for an expert home improvement team to add a screen room or deck to your home, setting up an appointment is easy. Our designers provide homeowners like you with a completely customized experience. schedule a free home consultation from Prince William Home Improvement today!
