Flat Living: Making the Most of Outside Space

Darren Bagnall of Flat Living Insurance helps you make the most of any available outside space at your block of flats.

While flat dwellers may not have access to swathes of land, many can take advantage of balconies, potted plants and rooftop gardens. With greenery being linked to our overall health and wellbeing, property managers should not only allow but encourage their green-fingered residents’ efforts wherever possible.

For those lucky enough to have a communal garden with their block of flats, maintenance is key to resident satisfaction. Below, we’ve put together some advice for those that want to make the most of their limited outdoor space as well as some tips for general communal garden upkeep.

Balconies and Rooftops

For those with rooftop access, a garden space could be easy to create for your block of flats. You can install raised flower beds and use trellis walls to divide the expanse into smaller areas.

Keep in mind that many plants will need shelter from the wind and sun- it may be best to seek professional advice when choosing plants and deciding what to put where. Installing netting material for vine plants to grow along can be a great solution; you can grow beans or peas while creating a natural shelter for the plants below.

The individual needs of the plants should always be considered. Don’t spend hundreds on plants that will wither and die simply because they’ve been positioned incorrectly! Map out your plans based on their sun and shade requirements.

The same applies for balconies- flower pots and balcony planters that fit over railings are great but make sure you’re using the best varieties for the conditions your space offers. If you’re making a flower bed, choose plants that bloom in complimentary colours and consider the shapes of the foliage for full effect. Place the tallest plants in the back of the box, a few on the sides, and let your favourite trailing plants dangle over the front of the box.

Window Boxes

No garden, no balcony? No worries- window boxes are a great solution. You can use them for growing flowers (nasturtiums, daisies or marigolds work well) or, for a useful addition to your kitchen, you can grow salad vegetables such as lettuce or radishes. You can also create your own herb garden with chives, thyme, parsley or sage. Mix up the more useful options with some flowers to enjoy the best of both worlds!

When designing a window box, select plants with a variety of growth habits; those that grow upright, those with bushy tendencies and those that vine or trail.

Hanging Baskets

Hanging baskets are one of the easiest ways to fit in some greenery- and a perfect choice for the apartment gardener. Fuchsias and ivy will flower in fairly shady sites or try geraniums if your space gets full sun.

Garden Maintenance Budget

As a Residents’ Management Company (RMC) director, you may be surprised by the budget set aside for garden maintenance for your block of flats. You may even ask yourself; is this is really necessary? Surely anyone can cut grass, de-weed and prune a few hedges at a much lower rate?

This may be true, but if you use a low-cost gardener, you need to ask the following questions:

• What experience do they have?
• Do they have any references?
• Do they have a local site you can look at?
• Are they correctly insured?
• Do they have a spraying licence (PA1 / PA6)?
• Do they have a complaints procedure?

A good garden maintenance company will offer all the above, and they’ll also be able to advise you on what maintenance is required dependant on your budget, your space and the plants involved.

If you have a very limited budget, you will need to accept that the gardens may not look perfect all year round. Your gardener will advise you re the best schedule to cover all bases as far as possible to satisfy your residents and to keep your block of flats looking great.

Gardening Schedule

As a rule of thumb, the following basic tasks need to be carried out throughout the year, but obviously this will depend on the frequency of the schedule that has been agreed with your contractor:

Spring:  

• Define beds
• Weed and feed grass
• Some pruning of certain hedges/shrubs
• Starting to cut grassed areas
• Any spring bulbs should be allowed to die off naturally as cutting these back too soon will stop them from flowering next year

Summer:

• Weeding and cutting grass will still need to be done but by midsummer the grass will slow its growth and in the heat you should not cut the grass too short
• It is not advisable to prune back any hedges/shrubs that are flowering as this will stress the plant and may cause flowering the next season to be limited
• If you know that the weather is going to be hot and dry for a few weeks, it’s not advisable to put down any feed for grassy areas as the majority of these require watering in

Autumn:

• Cleaning up fallen leaves
• The last feed of the year
• Cutting back shrubs and hedges
• Cutting of grassed areas will be less frequent but if the warmer weather staying longer you will need to be cutting into mid-November
• Edge all borders and hoe the beds before the ground is too hard
• Think about planting any spring and summer bulbs at the beginning of October

Winter:

• Keep on top of any shrub/hedge pruning
• Some contracts may include that rock salting is to be done when needed
• Paths to be kept clear of snow and ice

Reading the above may help you bear in mind that, once you have chosen a contractor for your garden maintenance at your block of flats, you should allow a reasonable time before you expect to see results as work done in the Autumn may not show until Spring or Summer. It may also go some way to explaining the depth of knowledge required for a garden to be maintained to a high standard.

Flat Living Insurance provides specialist insurance policies for blocks of flats and apartments. For more information or a quote, please contact a member of the Flat Living Insurance team on 0333 577 2044.