2011 Balcony Garden
In the spring a couple of the troughs where cleaned up and one of them replanted completely. Many of the new plants came for the annual CRAGS plant sale.
It was also the year that comets returned to the garden ponds. I kept the foliage simple and found that the floating ferns were the best choice for providing shade for the fishes. The ferns were also the easiest plant to remove every week when I did the required pond maintenance.
The troughs wintered over well and had a fast start. By June, all of the other containers were well established. Many of the alpines continued to flower, the herb container was growing well, the moss and ferns were enjoying the cool weather.
I discovered wheat was perfect for the balcony garden. It’s a plant that can really take the wind and loved the sun. It grew quickly and will definately be part of the 2012 garden plan.
We had the typical hail storms blow through, some dynamic cloud formations and our share of heat – although I was hoping for more. The carrots grew well because I finally figured out how to start the seed properly. The pots of pea shoots and the climbing peas were also successful. Greens, easy and tastey, were continuously planted throughout the summer with arugula and McKenzie’s spicy mesclun mix proving to be favourites.
The peppers were not as good as I expected. If it looks like we are expecting a cool start to the growing season in 2012, I might just pass on growing peppers again. The new types of cherry tomatoes I tried did not beat the sweet taste of Sun Golds. I think I’ll stop kidding myself that there might be something better than a Sun Gold cherry tomato.
With a short growing season and limited space, grow what you know and what you like to eat is the lesson learned (again).
2010 Balcony Garden
Like many gardeners in 2010, vegetable trials were evident in the balcony garden this year. I had great success with arugula, spicy lettuce greens, tomatoes, peppers, beans, carrots, basil, mint, rosemary and sage. And with the addition of blueberries and strawberries there always seemed to be a little something to snack on this summer. I set up 4 large clay troughs, and used a soilless mix with worm compost additions (dug in the spring and top dressed once seedling started to grow). The clay troughs worked brilliantly – lots of depth for roots, no chance of overwatering, good drainage and warm to the touch on a nice day.
I struggled with spinach, it didn’t seem to want to germinate, so I’ll be trying to make that work next year. Arugula and greens are really easy. I followed the well-known process of staggered plantings to ensure a steady supply of spicy greens. If you are a novice veg gardener and wondering where to start, start with greens.
Tomatoes are another easy plant to grow on the balcony, as long as you have the right sunny conditions. This year I tried a couple of new varieties of cherry tomatoes, each one with a different flavour. Experiment with varieties that are available in your area.
Beans, pepepers and herbs – again easy as long as you have the right amount of sun. I used a bamboo trellis to guide the growth of my beans. They needed a little encouragement to get started but grew like weeds once they settled in.
Carrots – now this is were I have some recommends for growing on the balcony. I planted my carrot seeds to heavily and had a lot of problems thinning them out. The problem was trying to pick out a few seedlings without disturbing the neighbours – very tricky when you have a soft, soilless mix that is light and fluffy. So next year, I’ll be a lot more careful when I set the seeds. Might add more compost to the soil before I plant. And I also could get the seeds started a little earlier.
2009 Balcony Garden
Selected plant list – bird’s foot violet, victoria blue forget me not, irish moss, draba. rununculus, saxifraga, allium, primula, columbine, sedum, hens and chicks, fern, barred horsetail frogbit, upright water clover, floating fairy moss, red stemmed parrots feather, water fern, cactus, siberian larch, mugo pines, birch seedling, everbearing strawberries, sun glod tomatoes, greens, oxalis, impatiens, salvia, sweet basil, rosemary, mint, thyme, spearmint, oregano, chives, cilantro, clematis, dianthus.
2008 Balcony Garden
Selected plant list for 2008 – draba, columbines, creeping thyme, arctic willow, bunny tail and fibre optic grass, heebee, oxalis, sun gold tomatoes, campanula, water clover, broad leaf floating grass, pansies, fuchsia pixie, black scallop bugleweed, salvia, black lace cactus, primula, stonecrop, arctic iris and a new larch.
below 1. Aquilegia flabellata nana, columbine, Zone 3, Delicate leaves, good fall colour, 3”h x 6″w, full sun 2. Alpine dianthus, Zone 3, Third year for this little alpine beauty in the, troughs, 4″ h x 6″w, sun and part shade 3. Cherry tomato, Sun Gold, one inch fruit, annual, 57-65 days, 10-12 fruit per stem, 36”h x 18”w, full sun 4. Oxalis vulcanicola, Zinfandel, dark wine red leaves and stems, Zone 9, easy, 6”h x 20”w, full sun to part shade 5. Lagurus ovatus, bunny tail grass, annual, wind tolerant, takes the heat, full sun or part shade, 15″h x 12″w 6. Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurea’, sage, purple gray-green foliage, Zone 5, textured, fragrant leaves, 4”h x 8”w 7. Salix Arctica, arctic willow, Zone 2, 2″ h x 12″w, fuzzy hairs on strong green colour leaves, shallow roots 8. Acinos alpinus, alpine rock thyme, Zone 4, easy, low cushion form, bright purple flowers, 4”h x 8” w, full sun.
2007 Balcony Garden
As always, a nice collection of hens and chicks graced the troughs. Also planted these tiny fibre optic grass plants (Scirpus cernis). Size and scale were perfect. Planted in the sun with a little shade and did not like to dry out.
Selected plant list for 2007 – alpine brass buttons, dwarf yarrow, alpine pinks, pussytoes, alpine cinquefoil, elfin thyme, gold nugget ice plant, saxifraga, woolly thyme, alpine baby’s breath, thrift, coral carpet stonecrop, scotch moss, miniature rose, bergenia, draba, yucca, red stemmed parrot’s feather, fairy moss, pennywort and water fern.
below 1. Delosperma congestum, gold nugget ice plant, Zone 4, spreading carpet form, starry yellow flowers, leaves turn maroon in the winter, 2”h x 2”w, full sun 2. Achillea x lewisii, ‘King Edward’, dwarf yarrow, Zone 3, low carpet form, yellow flowers on tall stems, 8” h x 12”w, full sun 3. Armeria maritime, ‘Varretu’, thrift, Zone 2, low cushion form, pink pompom flowers, 4”h x 12”w, full sun 4. Sedum album, ‘Coral Carpet’, stonecrop, Zone 2, low carpet form, white star flowers, 3”h x 24”w, full sun, used for green roofs 5. Gypsophila cerastioides, alpine baby’s breath, Zone 4, compact tuft leaves, starry white flowers with tiny pink veins, 8”h x 12”w, full sun 6. Salvinia natans, floating fern, tropical, small hairs on the leaves, helps prevent algae by shading parts of the pond, full sun 7. Thymus serpyllum ‘Elfin’, thyme, Zone 3, cushion form, tiny dark green leaves, soft mauve flowers, 3”h x 8”w, full sun 8. Miniature rose, ’Sweet fairy’, Zone 4, super fragrant, pale pink flowers, repeat bloomer if deadheaded, 6”h x 10”h, full sun.
2006 Balcony Garden
Selected plant list for 2006 – Siberian larch, Saxifraga ef juniperifolia, Labrador violet, Dwarf arctic iris, Wooly thyme, Scotch moss, Rupturewort, Stonecrop, Alpine pinks, Cheddar pinks, Lewisia ‘little plum’, Blue spruce stonecrop, Black leaved clover, Rockfoil, Rockcress, Red creeping thyme, Whitley’s speedwell, Dwarf mugo pine.
2005 Balcony Garden
Selected plant list for 2005 – Alpines, perennials and herbs planted this year. The herb tub selection was easy – chives, basil, purple sage, lemon thyme and mint.
2004 Balcony Garden
Selected plant list for 2004 – The hypertufa troughs were wintered over and about 30% of the alpines survived. The design of the balcony garden continues to be refined.
below Horse Trough – Dwarf Globe Nest Spruce, Picea abies ‘Ohlendorfi’, 6″ to 8″, evergreen, Dwarf Arctic Iris, Iris setosa var. arctica, 6″ to 12″, purple flower, East Friesland Salvia, Salvia nemorosa, ’Ostfriesland’, 18″ to 24″, purple flower, Dwarf Korean Meadow Rue, Thalictrum kiusianum, 6″ to 12″, light purple flower, Irish Moss, Sagina subulata, 2″ to 8″, white flower.
below Trough 1 (top) – Cheddar Pink, Dianthus ‘Whatfield Magenta’, 6″ to 12″, pink flower, Creeping Speedwell, Veronica prostrata, ’Blauspiegel’, 6″ to 12″, blue flower ••• Trough 2 (bottom) – Saxifraga, Bronchialis var.vespertina, 2″ to 4″, white flower, Silver Gem Stonecrop, Sedum pachyclados, 2″ to 12″, white flower ••• Trough 3 (top) – Vaccinium vitis idaea Minus, 3″ to 12″, pink flower, Rosularia muratdaghensis, 2″ to 5″, cream white flower, Saxifraga, Bronchialis var. vespertina, 2″ to 4″ white flower ••• Trough 4 (bottom) – Miniature Dwarf Bearded Iris, Iris taurica, 3″ to 6″, yellow flower, Dwarf Creeping Thyme, Thymus praecox ‘Elfin’, 1″ to 2″, pink flower, Dianthus glacialis, 2″ to 4″, pink flower.
2003 Balcony Garden
Annual purple pansies were the horse trough feature in 2003. A small number of alpines were successfully wintered over in the horse trough.
2002 Balcony Garden
This was the first year for alpine troughs on the balcony. A complete blend of annuals, perennials and alpines were planted and small evergreen trees were introduced.
2001 Balcony Garden
This was the first year for the balcony. A castor bean plant and annual climbers were featured and there were many small pots with grasses and annuals. The pond was in full sun.
