A Lush Container Garden Perched Two Stories Up
There’s a new chapter in The Purist Life, one that I haven’t spoken about before. But I’m ready to start sharing about another love of mine: gardening. I know that not all of you will find this topic interesting, but it does intersect with sustainability as well as healthy eating.
So today I’d like to introduce you to my sky garden. It’s a very small balcony garden and a personal oasis. For several years, it was my only place to garden.
Fruits, Veggies, and Flowers
Many of the darling little plants here in the sky garden were started from seed. Some have even self-seeded from the previous year! Like the cilantro, dill, and poppies. I like to allow my plants in the sky garden to co-mingle, overlap and get cozy. And it’s not just for the aesthetics mind you!
Much of the wildness is tactical: Geraniums, Cosmos, and White Russian kale offer shade to delicate lettuce leaves. Towering strawberry leaves stretch up to the sky and provide dappled light for herbs, berries, and dainty white Allysum—which has been tucked in throughout most of the containers. Sturdy umbrella-like pepper plants provide similar light protection for blue Forget-me-Nots. While many of the flowers have yet to even produce buds (I started their seeds in growing trays a little later than recommended), it’s important that sun hardy sprouts get their rays while part-sun baby plants don’t get scorched, especially when there are still small. You see? There is a method to the madness.
A Sweet Pea Trellis Screen
On the left balcony wall, I filled a long rectangular planter with Sweet Peas sprouts that were started indoors in February. My hope was that the climbing vines would creep up the two small wooden trellises and create a sort of “green” privacy screen. And at the time of writing this post, the vines started blooming. I love how this project turned out! I hope to repeat the same process again next summer as it brought me so much joy to see this bland area transform into a lush flowering wall.
Pick a Colour Palette for Harmony
Sure, a garden is a place to explore and have fun. But when I have a small space to work with, I like to create a cohesive base and allow the plants to do the “decorating.” You can see that I only use white pots in the Sky Garden. I choose different heights and shapes, and I even have some railing containers. But being consistent with their colour makes them feel like echos of each other. Thoughtful repetition can create a sense of calmness, which is what I’m hoping to create in this space.
Even the plants follow a loose colour palette. Beyond the various shades of green, I only put white and cool colour flowers in the garden. Lavender, Endless Summer blue hydrangeas, and pale blue Forget me Nots echo the various shades of the sky above. (Spoiler: Many of these flowers unfortunately fried in the sun! I’m hoping that they come back later in the summer.) While delicate white blossoms on the strawberry plants tumble out of the dies of a tall container and more while blooms appear like tiny crowns on top of pepper plants. The tiny white Alyssum flowers in many of the containers carry the white colour scheme across the entire arrangement.
This is just the beginning of the season for the container garden. In just a few weeks I’m hoping to see an eruption of leaves, blooms and veggies.
I hope that you’re enjoying your summer xo
