The Year of Perennials and Patio Dining
The Year of Perennials and Patio Dining
Spring 2024 balcony garden update
Plants that keep on giving
On Saturday I had plans to drive from the cottage to Ottawa in order to meet with my friends A and M for lunch. There’s a plant nursery called Gemmell’s along the way that I’ve been wanting to check out for some time now, so I decided to leave early to give myself some time to get some perennials for the balcony. The plant shop did not disappoint!
In past years, I’ve planted the balcony with tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, herbs and so on - a classic miniature vegetable garden. However, those crops are quite thirsty, especially when planted in relatively small containers on a hot and dry 6th floor balcony. When we travelled to Calgary for a week last June, everything died.
This year, faced with the prospect of starting plants from scratch once again, I decided to pivot and try something new. So here we are with a batch of perennials. Once established, they should be fairly drought tolerant compared to the veggie crops.
I’m hoping that these will be able come back year after year. Likely there will be work to fertilize, divide, trim roots, and insulate the planters for cold weather, however it will definitely be worth it if these plants can survive the winters! The prospect of the balcony garden evolving and becoming fuller and more beautiful through the years is really appealing to me.
Design choices for a small garden
In the big planter I wanted to plant a vine that could climb up the brick wall. The back corner needed a shade plant, preferably one with interesting foliage. The two small planters in the front receive full sun, so pretty much anything can be planted there, but I knew I wanted some flowers, and maybe some ornamental grasses to provide a bit of screening and privacy.
Because the space is small, my preference was for plants with smaller leaves that could provide texture without overwhelming. Oh, and I avoided yellow at all costs, as the brick wall is yellow, the wood furniture, planters, and frame are all orangey brown, and the whole space just needs blues and greens to balance it out.
Picking plants
There were SO many plants at Gemmell’s! It was heavenly - so fun browsing around and looking at different plants and visualizing how they would fit in the balcony garden. I wanted to get practically every plant I saw, but the balcony’s space limitations stopped me, and in the end it was probably best for my wallet.
In the back corner, I got a Coral Bells, (Heuchera hybrida) called “Silver Scrolls”. It has beautiful dark green/black veins, with a lighter silver relief on the rest of the leaf. The mature plant should fill out the back corner nicely.
The vine is Boston Ivy, (Parthenocissus tricuspidata “Veitchii”), a vigorous grower that can thrive in a range of conditions. I chose this plant because I really want the vine to succeed, and with the roof over the balcony I don’t think a strictly full-sun vine would be able to grow enough to cover the wall. The leaves are supposed to turn a nice red in the fall if they get enough sun, so I’m excited to see how it looks at the end of the growing season.
I also put in a Mother-of-Thyme aka Magic Carpet (Thymus serpyllum) in the front corner of the big planter. It has tiny little leaves and can spill over the edge of the container, so I think it’ll provide nice texture. There’s potentially room behind it for another plant, but I’ll wait and see how it does this year before making any decisions.
In the front planters, I have Elijah Blue Fescue, Speedwell Skyward Blue/Pink (Veronica Longiflora), and “Blue Emerald” Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata).
The blue fescue is a nice ornamental grass - I love the fine texture and blue/grey/green hue to it’s leaves.
The Veronicas are supposed to produce tall conical flowers in blue and pink, which I think will add a nice touch of colour in the mid-summer.
The creeping phlox currently has some pretty blue flowers on it, and the finer leaves add a nice bit of texture to the space.
I also inter-planted the herbs I started from seed earlier this year - this year I have rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley, and thyme. Hopefully some of these thrive so I can have some fresh seasonings in the kitchen!
Natural selection
This year of planting, like every year before it, will be another experiment. I’m excited to see what thrives, what survives, and to let that inform my garden decisions for next year.
It should be a great summer of meals out in the balcony garden. The patio furniture is another new addition, and already Steve and I have been eating out there every night for the past few weeks. It’ll be so lovely to watch the greenery expand and surround us over the course of the summer - our very own private patio!
Thanks for letting me take you on a mini tour of my balcony garden. If you would like to see the garden update at the end of the summer, and to receive my weekend blog posts straight to your inbox, sign up to be on my mailing list! I appreciate the support.