Anyone and everyone can garden – even if you’ve only a window ledge. Not only will growing plants give you great pleasure, you’ll be increasing biodiversity across the borough and could even win a cash prize in Cultivating Ealing’s Biodiverse Front Gardens and Balconies Competition.
So, why not grab a trowel and transform your space? To help you get started, take a look at ActForEaling’s top pick of flowers, herbs and fruit.
Fruit and veg
There’s nothing as tasty as a tomato you’ve nurtured yourself. Tomatoes come in various sizes for different growing locations including compact bush types and dwarf varieties suited to balconies and small spaces. Strawberries are also ideal as just a few plants can provide an abundant supply of fruit. Also try runner beans, spring onions and lettuce.
Herbs
Herbs are perfect plants for containers as they don’t grow too big. Here’s how to grow herbs in a small space. For sunny spots, opt for rosemary, thyme and chives and for shade sorrel, parsley and mint. Keep mint separate from other herbs as it will overtake and destroy their roots.
Zinnias
Zinnias add zing to any container or pot in a sunny position. The uncultivated form originates in Mexico, so naturally there is a wide range of flowers in vivid shades of yellow, orange, pink and red and a dazzling choice of shapes including single and double blooms.
Begonias
If, however, your space is in partial shade, you’ll need to select your plants carefully; a reliable bedding plant is the begonia as it will bloom and bloom. If you think of this flower as old-fashioned, then take another look as there are lots of exciting new varieties in eye-catching colours.
Pelargoniums
Pelargoniums are popular annuals offering abundant colour from May to October. They thrive in full sun and are easy to care for. Pelargoniums (botanical name) are also known as geraniums (common name) and not to be confused with hardy geraniums, a different species.
Hardy geraniums
Balconies are often windy, so if you’re high in the sky, go for plants that are happy to be exposed. Hardy geraniums are tough and have the advantage over annual bedding plants that they will flower year after year.
Agapanthus
With its firework-style display of flowers, Agapanthus enjoys the confines of a pot as restricting the roots encourages it to bloom. It does need to be fed and watered to achieve the continuous flowering effect. For a pure white, try Agapanthus Campanulatus Var. Albidus or for deep blue Agapanthus ‘Black Buddhist’.
Grasses
Ornamental grasses will bring texture and movement to your containers as they sway gently in the breeze. These low-maintenance plants thrive in a sunny location and will cope with exposed conditions, too. They can give a contemporary note to a planting scheme that suits an urban setting.
Plants for balconies: Enter the competition
A beautiful array of plants will transform any outdoor space and you’ll be welcoming in nature. Once transformed, share your photos and enter Ealing’s Biodiverse Front Gardens and Balconies Competition in collaboration between ActForEaling, Cultivating Ealing and Ealing Council.
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