Re-Organising the Balcony

I mentioned in my last post that I finally received Fern Richardson's Small-Space Container Gardens. In the book, she described how we can first design our container gardens by laying out a plan for where each plant goes. I followed her advice and tried applying some form of order for my rectangular-shaped balcony. The results were pretty amazing.

Previously, I had two sets of shelves on both and left and right ends of my balcony and a solo shelf in the middle facing the sliding doors. I then filled the empty space with a big bamboo plant to the left of that shelf in the middle and a big cactus and an aloe vera to the right of the same shelf. For some reason, I was obsessed with having a patio table out on the balcony and it had to be set right in the middle. The end result was a decent looking balcony with bits of plants all over. I believe I've shared some pictures of what the old layout was like in previous posts so I shall not repeat them here.

I re-arranged my shelves and now have three shelves in the middle of the balcony facing the sliding doors, and my bamboo over to the left end of the balcony. It looks like this:

Big Bamboo plant now occupies left end of balcony & neighbours my Indian Rubber plant

 After the move, I realised that not only do I now have access to drainage, I have more space to move about and enough to keep my ladder and other bulky items in the corner, out of sight. Also, by having three shelves in the middle of the balcony, I've immediately gained some privacy.

The row of 3 shelves that now occupy center place

This time, I was determined to use plants as a shield from the traffic and from the prying eyes (I assume they are prying) of our next-block neighbours. I wanted to build a wall of plants and so got myself a pot of white bleeding hearts vine and ivy to go in a long planter. The planter goes smack in the middle of the three shelves and is placed a little higher up where the plants can get most sun.

What the "wall" looks like - can't wait for the vines to grow!

I also got several small pots of fern (they were on sale at the nursery near me) as well as flowers that need partial shade to go on the lower racks of the shelves. My existing plants and herbs now occupy all the other spots and have gained centerpiece status.

My husband watched me do the move on Sunday and asked me, "Why didn't we think of this sooner?" Yeah, I am also amazed at how little tips from another person or a book can help transform the space so much. I still have my patio table; it's no longer placed in the middle but to the left of the balcony, in a little corner where I can sit surrounded by plants and sunshine, but still have a little privacy if I choose. I now have a space which looks so much neater and so much bigger. It made me realise that I was cluttering up my balcony before!

Perhaps you are not quite satisfied with how your garden looks right now. Maybe you can consider a little "reformation" too. Cheers and hope you have a good gardening day~

Floral accidents

I've always found it difficult to head out to a nursery and be told that I am only allowed to get a single pot of plant. There are just too many plants at home and the poor balcony is too cluttered with my seemingly endless pots of greens. Yet, the nursery houses so many more varieties of flowers, herbs and greens I covet. Out of sheer desperation, I've kept with my single-pot-per-nursery-trip budget but started creating "accidents"; I snip short branches off plants I really like from the oddest places or uprooting some from their homes -- off the slope when I'm out for a walk with the dogs, from a bush just along the street, off the bark of a tree... 

The ferns always survive and actually grow to be giants. Some of the branches I snip off various bushes survive too. I collect leaves that are meant to be discarded after floral arrangement classes and am proud to say that the product of one such lovely accident (my spotted bamboo plant) is thriving. Sometimes, when neighbours throw out perfectly healthy plants, I pick them up and re-pot them too. So maybe they were looking a little scruffy when I found them but the one I last picked up is growing real well now and I have the plant in two different pots. It makes me happy every time I look at new shoots, happy leaves. One of my favourite accidents is the "lipstick" plant. I snipped off a branch outside my school library the year I started on my doctorate. It's been 5 years since and the plant is nearly one meter tall.

I recently finished rearranging the balcony plants and it looks so much neater. When I told my husband that I managed to save space for new plants, he gave me a very predictable look of incredulity. Nonetheless, I'm determined to forge on, create more accidents and work at turning my balcony into a very green space...

Flowers around the house

I'm obsessed with the idea of creating a very green space right at home and I guess this has gained an even greater priority since our move to a flat that faces the main road. We not only get to enjoy the fumes of the traffic daily, the sounds these vehicles and yelling drunks produce, the cigarette stench from passers-by has come too annoyingly close for any sort of comfort.
I do realise that I could opt to seal off the balcony like so many of my neighbours have done. Have solid sound-proof windows installed that I can shut at will. But I like my plants and would like to have my own "urban garden" right on the balcony. So while searching around online, I've found really nifty ideas on how to use plants as a shield for privacy, cut back the fumes and really filter out some of the noise.
I hope to share some of these attempts in my blog and convince more to consider having some green in their space too.