Fern Richardson - Small-Space Container Gardens: Transform Your Balcony, Porch, or Patio with Fruits, Flowers, Foliage, and Herbs

SMALL-SPACE CONTAINER GARDENS

Transform Your Balcony, Porch, or Patio with Fruits, Flowers, Foliage & Herbs

FERN RICHARDSON

Copyright 2012 by Fern Richardson.
All rights reserved. Photography credits appear on page 180.
Published in 2012 by Timber Press, Inc.

The Haseltine Building
133 S.W. Second Avenue,
Suite 450
Portland, Oregon
97204-3527
timberpress.com

2 The Quadrant
135 Salusbury Road
London NW6 6RJ
timberpress.co.uk

Design by Omnivore
Printed in China

Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data

Richardson, Fern.

Small-space container gardens: transform your balcony, porch, or patio with fruits, flowers, foliage & herbs / Fern Richardson.1st edition.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60469-241-9

1. Container gardening.

2. Small gardens.

I. Title.

SB418.R53 2012

635.986dc23

2011029272

A catalog record for this book is also available from the British Library.

Fern Richardsons bountiful balcony.

By DEBRA LEE BALDWIN

THE APARTMENT FERN RICHARDSON shares with her husband has minimal outdoor space. Yet the busy career woman, avid gardener, and self-taught horticulturist cultivates whatever she likes and does it with style.

Ferns enthusiasm for container gardening and her success with growing plants that provide food, beauty, and bouquets have led her to share her small-space savvy with apartment and condo dwellers worldwide. No wonder her blog, Life on the Balcony, is so popular. Fern is fearless. I dont doubt that if she wanted to grow a wildflower meadow on a rooftop, shed find a way. Fernyes, thats really her namegrows jewel-like succulents, fragrant herbs, potted fruit trees, vegetables that change kaleidoscopically with the seasons, and flowering vines that serve as privacy screens.

If you dont like your outdoor living area and you wish you didif youre uncertain where to start, what to plant, or how to keep it aliveyoure about to embark on an exciting journey. What sets thisbook apart from others about container gardening is that its author is a space-saving maven. Fern sees walls, rafters, railings, and everything in-between as fair game. And she does it economically. If youre short on cash (or even if youre not), look forward to discovering how to start plants from seeds; take cuttings; and transform found objects, like wood pallets, into attractive vertical planters.

In order to have variety without clutterafter all, balconies are mainly for peopleFern extensively researches her plant selections. Just about everything she chooses does double- or triple-duty. Her fig tree, for example, is a dwarf variety ideally suited to container culture, has large leaves that stand out amid finer-textured foliage, and provides delicious fruit. Fern is also a naturalist who knows how to attract and nurture beneficial insects, like ladybugs and butterflies, while at the same time preventing infestations of ants, aphids, and mealy bugsall without resorting to toxic chemicals. As she shoehorns an entire garden into a space no bigger than the average bathroom, Fern makes sure everything looks good. She explains how to primp your plants, and how to hide mundane yet essential items such as fertilizer, pruners, and bags of potting soil.

So if your entryway, patio, deck, balcony, or rooftop is a stark expanse populated only by beach chairs and a hibachi, take the plunge. Claim that space for your own private Eden. Im betting that your yard-owning friends soon will envy you. Weed-pulling and lawn carewhich consume the Saturdays of many a suburban homeownerwill not concern you. Yet youll post photos of geometric succulents, hanging baskets, and drowsy butterflies; fill vases with bright blooms; and serve salads of home-grown lettuce and vine-ripened tomatoes.

Keep in mind that Fern may not have a yard, but she certainly has a garden. And thanks to this book, so will you.

DEBRA LEE BALDWINis the author of Succulent Container Gardens and Designing with Succulents.

CONTAINER GARDENING ON BALCONIES, patios, porches, terraces, decks, rooftops, or even windowsills is a fun way for those of us without a real garden to still get our hands dirty. I find that gardening on my balcony satisfies my need to growherbs, peaches, nectarines, figs, blueberries, flowers, and succulentswhile still leaving plenty of time and energy for other parts of my life. The space Ive created, and the process of caring for it, is also my retreat. When my husband insists on practicing the same song on his guitar, over and over and over, I can easily escape to the relative peace and quiet of my balcony garden. Even though container gardens are inherently less wild than a traditional gardenthey are, after all, containedI love that its still possible to be surrounded with lushness, beauty, nature, privacy, and style.

Connected so intimately to our indoor living areas, balconies, patios, and porches also serve as transitional spaces between inside and out that naturally invite personal touches and creativity. Many people love plants and keep adding to their collection, but feel frustrated that their balcony or patio doesnt reflect their unique style. Thats where having a design strategy comes into play. In the first part of the book youll learn how to make harmonious plant combinations and compositions, pick containers that are equally pleasing to plant and person, and utilize your spaceon the floor, up the wall, over the railingto its fullest potential. Youll get ideas on redefining what makes a container a container, incorporating decorative touches, and, above all, unleashing your personality.

I always grow burros tail (Sedum morganianum) because it was one of the plants my grandma gave me as a cutting from her garden.

Throughout the book youll also find plenty of practical information that shows you how to deal with unique challenges, like the microclimate of a windy balcony or a patio that gets the brunt of every rain storm. The final two chapters give you a basic crash course in cultivating your container gardening green thumb, as well as troubleshooting some common pests and diseases.

The five design chapters include multitudes of plant picks and tips to help you attract birds and beneficial insects to your garden, simultaneously satiate your hunger and your discerning eye, create a secret garden hidden away from nearby neighbors and noises, assemble a pathway of stunning succulents and fragrant plants, or luxuriate in a tropically themed refuge. Ive included simplified design plans which you can use as inspirational blueprints or as jumping off points to mix and match plants from one chapter to another. No matter how you decide to use this book, I hope it motivates you to head outside and create your own oasis. You wont regret it!