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The best balcony garden ever

The balcony garden may be small, but it punches far, far above its weight as a gorgeous green oasis.

I cannot believe that this balcony below, that I love hiding on and reading on and people watching on, used to look like this:

This is what it looks like now, and oh, I do adore it:

balcony garden

balcony garden

The turning point really did come when I laid the lawn on the balcony. Now I can lounge on the grass with a book in the afternoons, as cosy as anything, resting on my lovely cushions from Oily Rag. And the green grass complements the leafy planting, and makes everything else seem bigger and greener and healthier.

The plan is to have the ornamental vine, pictured above (and from Gardening Express), a clematis and a kiwi vine trailing around the rails of the balcony, enclosing it still further from prying eyes in and across the street. This is my garden, that I want to hide in: I’d rather not invite my neighbours if that’s ok. I’ve also planted three trailing squashes with small fruits in hanging baskets at the front so they can trail their way around the railings and stun (hopefully not physically) the neighbours with their pretty fruits in the autumn.

homemade salad planter

Having a balcony that faces north is also a real blessing for me as I try to grow salads all the year round. Were this a hot, dry summer, I would be still more grateful as plants would be less likely to dry out and bolt.

balcony garden

I still need to water the containers a fair amount, although I’ve come up with a few water-saving tricks, which I’ll share in a future post.

red pelargoniums

And, oh! The lipstick-red pelargoniums that I planted and expect to last all summer in their galvanised steel containers. What a thing to see peeping through the railings each night when I return home.

red pelargoniums

Of course the girls next door and the rather grumpy drum ‘n’ bass fan downstairs think I’m one of the strangest people they’ve ever met, especially when I appear at 5am on the balcony before work, still clad in my pyjamas, with a bright pink watering can for the drier corners of the balcony. But that’s the price you have to pay for owning the best balcony garden ever.

balcony garden

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9 Responses

  1. Marie

    By far, the most beautiful balcony I ever seen!
    I love how transformed a small space into such a peaceful oasis.
    Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  3. BFD

    What else would you expect from the best daughter ever? Well done, Bebé. XXX

    Reply
  4. Caro (urban veg patch)

    Totally with you on the early morning pyjama clad watering run - I love to linger on my balcony both in the morning and the evening, checking on my little plants. Last year a rampant achocha provided a fast growing and fruitful green screen; this year I’ve planted a miniature melon, a trailing squash, french beans and achocha to go with all the herbs and edible flowers - my little piece of paradise! One question: where did your steel frames for the balcony railing planters come from? I’m thinking I could squeeze another layer of salads over my built-in window boxes!

    Reply
  5. Jody

    What a beautiful space! From morning cups of tea to afternoon books to wine after work, it just looks like the perfect place to escape! Wonderful! Love the grass too!

    Reply
  6. Jacqueline

    I am jealous - I want a balcony rather than my garden which is out of control & bedraggled at the moment due to excessive rain!!

    A beautiful space.

    Reply
  8. Oakley

    WOW! Awesome balcony! How did you put in the grass? Is it real grass ontop of a large container? I really love that idea. I just started my balcony garden which I really excited to do. I would love to sit on some grass on my balcony. I’m sure my dog would love it also!

    Reply

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