SMALL SPACES: New Impressions from the Balcony Garden

This year the weather is really crazy - very humid but relatively warm - at least most of the time. It's good for the plants because they grow like crazy - not so good for the blooms I must say though. Simply not enough sunshine.

I have grown 3 different Tropaeolum this year and they are forming a real jungle in the meanwhile and the bees and bumblebees love their blooms which is wonderful - even at a height of more than 120 feet!!! I love bumblebees. Here are some vignettes how even a small space can transform into a lovely little garden.

This was the beginning of May:

As you can see I have quite a lot of pots hanging from the ceiling which is doing the trick if you are very constraint with space (even my little Oleander tree is hanging):

 4 weeks later it already looked like this - the Tropaeolum started to climb:

Now this is the view I have when I am sitting on my balcony - the ugly outer world has been shut off completely - at least by sight:

Our pigeons love this jungle - can hide between the leaves and relax there:

My Epiphyllum gave me soom blooms this year again:

Btw - this year I have spent less than a 100 bucks on my balcony garden including all the new pots/containers, potting soil, new herbs and seeds and even my new Oleander tree. (Last one was killed in the awfully cold winter). You see you don't need to spend a whole lot of money to create a little garden in your modest home.
Btw - you don't even need to buy expensive seeds or plants. Some vegetables have lovely blooms and the green leaves are sometimes very interesting, climbers and non-climbers. And if you are lucky you can even harvest the fruit in the end. Last year I even had some beans on the balcony. Unfortunately the rest of the plant was eaten untimely by lice.

I am growing a lot of Anthericum as well which can serve as a filler for empty places, is easy to grow from its own branches and looks wonderful when blooming (the blooms here are from my cactus though).

And this is my balcony as it looks now - wonderfully overgrown:

 (all photos above ©Petra Voegtle)

Here are a few more impressions what you can do with your balcony:

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This is a real surprise for me that you can grow Brugmansia on the balcony:

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Such a balcony garden adds to a romantic feeling - doesn't it - and is full of life instead of grey concrete. The plants create a soothing climate on your balcony, keep off dust and even pollution to some extent. They can serve as a windshield as well as a sunscreen. I could not do without them any more...

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SMALL SPACES: Garage converted into a living Space

In modern cities living spaces have become rare and expensive. Additionally the number of single parent families is increasing in western countries which means you need even more space for more individuals. No matter whether this is a desirable development (in fact it isn't) it is happening and solutions have to be found because cities cannot supply endless space for a decent living. But there might be a lot of space which is not utilzed any more for various reasons.

A while ago I found this very interesting article via freshome.com and I thought I would love to share this with you if you haven't seen this yet:

"Garage conversions are very popular nowadays. It is amazing what some can do out of an old rusty room and today we have yet another project that proves impossible is nothing. French architects at Fabre | de Marien managed to completely transform a 41 sqm garage located in Bordeaux into a welcoming living space." (continue to read here)

With some plants and more decoration you could even convert the external part of this wall into a welcoming space that certainly sets oneself apart from the ugly surrounding and might even inspire the neighbourhood to do something similar.

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SMALL SPACES: Balcony Garden

Although we still have deep winter and the temperatures have gone down below zero again there already was a hint of spring the last week and I even put some of my very large plant pots outside. Would have been too nice if I could have left them there but...today we had some snow showers again and I hate it.

And on top of it - as if this wasn't enough I found these pics which make my heart hurt even more in  expectance - having my own little balcony garden again. And this year I want to make it a bit nicer, without all the chaos of empty pots and other stuff. I want it to look more like this:

(found on homeinfatuation Blog)

(myrentalpad.com)

(www.littlerockfamilyhousing.com)

(gardenplants.ie)

(gardenrant.com)

(forums2.gardenweb.com)

 (aquaponics.net.au)

(whatpossessedme.com)

Last summer my balcony looked like this and I want to do something about it:

(view from my bedroom including pigeons)

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