Brand new, Frances Tophill’s First Time Gardener is our botanical bible, designed to make overhauling that newly-inherited patch a lot less overwhelming. Beautifully illustrated and really rather accessible, Tophill takes us from basic plant care to planning our own Eden in easy steps. ‘But I only have a balcony!’ we hear you cry. Here to prove you can get your gardening gloves on, no matter how small your outside space, local lady, Martine Davis from the Balcombe Street Window Box Company offers her tips for the tiniest of terraces.
1. Use a few small, strategically placed pots. If you have a square space, place the pots in the corners. Rectangular troughs fill the gaps and work really well against a wall. Keep the planting to a theme – a couple of colours that either complement each other, or contrast.
2. The use of mirrors in the garden is a great way to create the illusion of space. Make sure you hang any mirrors opposite something you’d like to reflect.
3. Lighting is very important too, especially in the evenings. It can add drama and ambience. Why not put lighting in the pots?
4. Outdoor wall art can add life and interest to a plain wall or fence.
5. If you have a balcony with a railing, use it to hang balcony pots or boxes, which will save the ground space. This way you can have some colour to look at and still manage to put a chair and table there.
Planting trends this season: We are still in spring so primroses, pansies and violas work well. Erysimum is a nice, tall flowering plant to make a statement in a pot or window box. For the evergreen fan, a cone or ball-shaped buxus plant looks clean and contemporary. Plant alone or surround with violas, pansies or primroses.