gardening in small spaces
For me, gardening / horticulture is pure therapeutic joy … communing with nature / the Universe. It’s like creating colourful exterior rooms.
Once an apartment dweller, many people couldn’t believe I had an extensive garden on my balcony—Iicalled it my ‘vast country estate’. When shown photos they were amazed.
intro
amalgam
contact
and …
L : Yellow day-lilies everywhere
C : A gnome guards my big bonsai oak
R : 1 Calibrachoas + Petunias in abundance
2 A Peruvian Pepper tree (Schinus molle)
3 Chestnut tree (Castanea sativa)
4 Fuji Apple tree espaliaded with 10 apples
4 ripening
Here are a few pointers—learnt from Burnley Horticultural College—to help with your own gardening in aismall space :
1 Take note of the light conditions your plants will get. My balcony faced due west and got the scorching heat and hot winds of summer. Through experimentation I put in drought loving plants and those from the tropics to survive the heat.
2 A few summers ago some survived, others didn’t. In fact, the ones that enjoyed the 46 °C of Black Saturday was a Mango tree (a seedling dug from the compost) and various Bougainvillea.
3 Stack hanging baskets under each other with similar habits and needs—watering one waters the others.
In this way, a few years ago Iihad 21 baskets on my balcony, all creating a flourish of eternal colour and aromas.
4 Some plants in hanging baskets are meant for growing in the earth proper. But because they attract birds and bees, Iireckon they could be grown in containers for a few years. For instance, a Correa, see the pic, was visited by a honey-eater each year.
5 When planting in pots, avoid ‘crocking’ and placing the pot in a saucer. See the importance of feet.
Read about the NPK story.
It’ll inspire you toward great gardening excellence.
Plus the patience of growing bonsai is part of my gardening therapy.
