A little about leaving the allotment: late November and December 2012 I tidied up our much loved allotment and collected any seeds that could be used.
It was tough to say ‘cheerio’ and I even spend an afternoon by myself collecting some ridiculously late raspberries, veg, remaining herbs and flower seeds.
We even still had some tomatoes - in December! How crazy is that?!
Looking back, this was a fantastic opportunity to experiment and learn about vegetables, herbs and flowers and, although time consuming, it has been very worthwhile.
Our new home does not have a garden or even space to rent one anywhere in the walking distance. However, what we do have is a great new project: a large city balcony/terrace! Very exciting. It is south/west facing, so plenty of sun almost the whole day long. In addition the balcony is well protected from wind. The balcony is 15.5 m2 with 4 m wall of railings exposed to sun. There are hooks in place for five reasonable size rectangle flower containers. Easy!
At this point the idea is to have several containers that are reasonably low-maintenance. Because the balcony will be used for mealtimes, entertaining and relaxing, I want plants with fresh and gentle fragrance, so no lilies or roses (anything with thorns or spikes for that matter!). I have come up with a list of herbs and flowers to use and here is the list:
Seeds I have already: mixed flowers (collected from the allotment: marigolds, cornflowers, poppies etc.), Cornflower, Lupine, China Aster (mixed colours), Lavender, decorative sage (purple/pink - Salvia Horminum), lettuce, dill, parsley (Gigante di Napoli - it did very well in the allotment), thyme, coriander and lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis).
Plants and seeds planning to purchase: tomatoes, peppermint, chilli, two pots of larger conifers (yet to decide - any suggestions for fragrance and species suitable for pots???), Rosemary (found: Hänge-Rosemarin ‘Capri’, looks very pretty!), Riesen-Hosta (or just Hosta) and anti-mozzy Geranium Citrioderum.
Here is the current layout plan - very proximate - made using The Better Homes and Gardens, Arrange-a-Deck online app:
In addition to the south-facing balcony, we have a small north-facing and shady balcony. For this space I have planned a combination of shade-loving plants, flowers and herbs. I have done a little bit of research online and also have a bit of experience from planting in the shady area of the allotment. At the moment I am considering Begonias, Hostas (Riesen-Hosta), sage (Salvia Officinalis) and peppermint (Mentha Piperata). Peppermint and sage are apparently good insect repellents, so this might be useful when airing the house in summer. Hostas have flowers, but are mostly a very decorative foliage. I am not sure how well geraniums would cope with just about full-shade. Any suggestions?
This is an exciting time - spring - and I cannot wait to have our garden oasis!
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