The Balcony Gardener: Creative ideas for small spaces

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Some buildings don’t allow any plants on balconies or only allow flowers (as vegetables may attract birds or pests). You probably won’t be able to grow enough food to meet all your needs, but some pole beans, a pot of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and a pepper plant or two will give you a fresh taste of summer. Balconies are great for growing vegetables because it’s easy to pick them fresh when you want to use them, and you can bring them indoors if the weather gets too cold.

Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own.If your balcony is in the sun, consider zinnias, pelargoniums and coleus, and for shades outdoor spaces, begonias and nicotianas will enjoy these conditions. With great passion and a practical approach to small space gardening, she has also shared her house plant expertise in House Plants, published by CICO Books. We are “have-a-go” gardeners and learn year-on-year what works for the plants and what works for us. Generally my strategy was to have a couple of tall pots with very tough plants in them and then nestle smaller things into their (still bright) shade to help keep them cooler. If you don't have heaps of room choose a potting table or shelves similar to the above from Wayfair, there are lots of different outdoor shelves to choose from that will let you make use of vertical space.

That gives you a sense of a flourishing lush embodiment you would see in larger gardens and creates that oasis. Check the weight loading of your balcony - this is usually calculated at around 70kg per m2 (dependent on age, construction etc. You can match the colour to anything in your interiors, they give a painterly finish and let the pot breathe while still being waterproof.Discover how to make the most of your gardening plot, however confined, with Isabelle’s creative and inspiring projects, including creating a cocktail window box from which you can make your own delicious fruity drinks, recycling containers such as wine and fruit crates, and creating a country garden in the smallest urban space. Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. There are also clever tricks for fitting more plants into a tight space, and solutions to those common balcony problems.