A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Gardening in the Shade Not much sunshine...

I live in the wine country of Northern California and have a wonderful apartment with a small balcony the length of a sliding glass door that my dining table is in front of; my dining and living areas are combined in one large room, and I keep the drapes open to let in all the light from the big window - but the balcony is bare and uninviting. I want to turn the balcony into my "upstairs garden" - a focal point when I'm dining, entertaining, and just relaxing. The mood in my lifestyle is a combination of casual and elegant, my tranquil hideaway where my goal is to have a warm, inviting feeling for myself and my guests. My dilemma is that in addition to not being a very good gardener, the balcony faces east and is totally enclosed by a solid wall and only gets a small amount of sunshine. My home is done in a Meditarranean decor with lots of neutral colors that are brought to life by rich accent rugs, floral arrangements and decor. I have NO idea where to start with the balcony! Any suggestions on plants that are agreeable to the balcony environment would be greatly appreciated... Thanks! - Marlene

hi Marlene; welcome to the forum !
Depending on how much available space is left, about the best suggestion I can think of is to put a redwood trestle table up against the balcony wall so as to elevate a couple of planter pots or urns,large enough to retain water reasonably long,with decorative foliage plants,such as caladiums. Strive for the minimally elegant so as not to compete with your living room.

Hi Marlene, Your space sounds lovely. My thoughts are you really want something to look out at....

On the wall facing in how about putting a wall water fountain that matches your decor. If you cannot connect to the wall you could get a free standing one.

For plants I would suggest
-Ferns big ones in beautiful urns,
-Heuchera (they come in so many colors they are gorgeous)
-Honeysuckle grows in shade and it could vine up around the water feature.
-Ivy I have a beautiful evergreen yellow and green ivy that would look pretty.

You could have a very interesting sight, sound, fragrant area.

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