Looking for a little help from knowledgeable folks here.
I am used to gardening outside in the backyard and have decent experience with houseplants. I've been known to put a plant or two out (something easy, like geraniums or succulents) on the balconies of my previous homes, but I'm about to go full force into balcony gardening in my new condo that has two balconies, and no backyard whatsoever.

Two SMALL balconies...to be clear. :)

Both balconies face south, and both have a cover/roof. It's essentially an indented portion of the building, and not jutting out from the building. I've lived here for a month now, and from January to now, it appears to be getting full sun, enough to make me feel like it's Hawaii out there in the middle of January. That said, as the sun travels, I've noticed that the right side of the balconies both start receiving shade at about noon.

Balcony 1: by 2 pm the entire bulk of the balcony is in shade EXCEPT the railing ledge area where it's still receiving full, blasting sun.
Balcony 2: full shade by 1 pm, even the ledge, due to a building overhang (a roof extension jutting out over the lobby entrance).

Main issue is with balcony 1, as Balcony 2 seems clearly more shade-suited. Image shown below is balcony 1.

With the changing season and direction of the sun -- I am unclear how to treat this balcony given the coverage it has overhead!

South-facing would have been my ideal (I've loved my south-facing gardens!) but to my recollection, the sun will be getting higher and higher as we head to summer. I get full sun right now because it's lower but once it's higher, wouldn't it be directly over me, and more accurately, over my roof? In essence, would I not then have a full shade situation, almost?

So my main questions are: how do I treat this balcony? Do I plant full sun plants or do I go for partial sun, partial shade, or shall I go to full shade? How do I predict what the sun situation will be in the heat of summer?

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I know I could wait until summer to find out exactly how much heat/sun I get but who has the patience for that? (Not I!)

I was excited to plan (and buy) for a full sun balcony -- two, no less, but I'm fretting now that perhaps I should have stocked up on hostas instead, haha.

I've Googled as much as I can re: how to figure out the sunniness of a covered south-facing porch, but most replies seem to indicate that south is great but don't address the overhead cover issue.

I've attached a photo of the balcony at 1pm, today (2/11). Excuse the dirt bags, etc. Like I said, I'm in the PLANNING stages, haha. You can clearly see the shade vs sun situation...

Thank you for any wisdom you can share with me!

Grace

Are you looking into flowers or veggies?

Thanks for confirming re: sun for a south-facing balcony! Bummer... I had hoped to do many full sun plants on this balcony but guess it will be half/half with herbs taking the front stage. I agree that it IS kind of cool to have options for both in one location, though!

The bluberry plants on that table, which have since been potted properly in a large barrel, are receiving massive sun from morning to 4pm. Remember my gardenia? It's against the backwall now. Nothing appears to have grown, but nothing died between then and now either; it's like it's frozen in time or a plastic plant.

Given the lack of real estate out there, I am doing a lineup of herbs from seed, including arugula and shiso as far as edibles go, and the blueberry plants. Everything else are foliage and/or flowers--with a hefty dose of succulents inside and out.

What are you planting this year?

My main ideas are to continue and improve the "wall of foliage". The plants I love to use for that are here. I'm working on making a mini landscape with mini plants, and want to put a lot of my "regular house plants" in the ground to see what they'll do, as long as I think I can dig them back up later. There's a bag of flower and veggie seeds to find homes for in the beds when it's time, and the windowsills are full of Coleus cuttings waiting for Jack Frost to be a thing of the past. Traded a few cuttings with people...

I've tossed one houseplant outside while setting up everything the other day -- a green cute peperomia. I really didn't need one more houseplant and the leaves on this thing were so simple and cute that I used it in mixed pots by splitting one small plant into four. Who knows - they may all croak now, haha, but I figure these are, at some place in the world, all outdoor plants.

Today (and only for today), I am kind of moving things around to make the majority of plants go out and focus more on the many pseudo-terrariums I have going for the inside. They are cleaner-looking and go w/ the decor more, and I'm not so sure I dig this jungle look I inadvertently created, haha.

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Purple, would you happen to know what that yellow/green/pink striped plant is? It came without a label, and I bought it because I thought it was peculiar looking but I have no idea what it needs. I could also find out the way I normally do. Haha.

Thanks for sharing all of your plant projects!! They're beautiful.

Two balconies is exciting! You could have two designs, when most of us are stuck with trying to unify one.

Something else to consider about your balcony-- think about what kinds of furnishings, flooring, etc you want to have on it and make sure you plan your plants around that. I ran across this blog the other day, and it made me envy some of the really cute balconies out there!

Wish I knew what your mystery plant is, it's really attractive!! If you put that pic on cacti&succulent forum (if it is,) they'll probably know. If not, put it on name-that-plant. Love your little planters! You've done more mini gardening than I have. So cute!

J., loved the link! So many cute balconies and great ideas! I'm almost motivated to get the crap off of my porch that's not decorative or doing anything useful...

Thanks, Julianna! That link is chock full of cute balconies!! I love the idea of changing the flooring and putting wood panels or cool tiles on top of the concrete I have. My econo-solution has been to put a nice rug out there in the middle, just big enough to not get wet from dripping plants. (The photo isn't showing that part...) It's so convenient in that I don't need shoes to sit out there, but not quite as gorgeous as hardwood panels!

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But for now, my main concern is finding something "cute" to replace the ice chest I have some of my plants sitting on. That thing is fugly, but it's the exact height I want for that corner....and as of yet, haven't found the perfect shelf/rack for it.

I have one out of the two balconies now "completed" - if you can call it that. I have a bunch of seeds starting right now, so the "plan" is to let them grow in, pot them up and let them take the full sun spots on this balcony, and move some of the more established ones out to the other balcony to get "partial sun" -- and then fill in the full shade plants (which I am not familiar with, on the whole). The problem with two balconies, Julianna, is that a person only really uses one, lol. I sit outside a lot and this is the one I seem to go to -- and the other just has this great plant rack out there w/ nothing on it. The pigeons like that one, for now. Come summer, I have a feeling I'm going to dread going out on both balconies to water....not that this will stop me from filling up both.

I think I need to watch a couple episodes of Hoarders now. Haha.

Check out yard sales, thrift stores, etc and see if you can find something cheap that you can use that is that height. if it's cheaper but not technically outdoor furniture, you won't mind its eventual destruction as much.

My balcony is north facing and recessed. So I had to become familiar with the shade world. Lots of things out there will work. I was able to narrow more to shade and fragrant as most of my collection. In the part sun railing area I have some edibles-- herbs, strawberries, passiflora.

Another really good site-- the 66 square feet blog. Her terrace is wow and in a way sort of like your issue. she has full sun, part sun, and shade. You can click on the "66 square feet the terrace" link on the left (her column of tags) and see what a great job she did.

Yeah, 2 balconies would be a bit difficult to use lol. Fun though at any rate!

Check out her flooring, Julianna. Looks like gravel? That might actually be a better solution; you don't even have to really clean up after repotting, etc.

You read my mind! Lately, I do keep an eye out on Craigslist to see if something comes up. I got the other mini baker's rack the same way.

Something came over me and I decided to repot some indoor plants I had just repotted some weeks ago. Felt like the soil just wasn't drying enough so took out everything, added more perlite and mixed it all up to repot. Also removed the rocks I had used as mulch. I mean, 2 weeks of no water and it wasn't dry yet!?!!

NOW, I feel better -- like they can all breathe again. I did miss the dinner I had said I would attend, though haha.

Happily obsessed, clearly.

Haha! That's OK. That sounds like poor drainage or yes, very retentive soil. I'm an underwaterer. i have to fight to water things enough. I just hate it. So I tend to pot things in such a way to retain the most water possible. Works great for me!

About watering. It does require a commitment, with all those pots, but I'm pretty sure it takes no more than 20 minutes a day in summer. And yes, I love it. It's like this great big release of stress, for me. I use a wand on soaker setting and let each pot fill to the brim, drain, and repeat. With 30 -36 pots at a given time it's an average of about 20 seconds per pot. Not that I've counted or anything :-)

The gravel is on filter fabric over a nasty pressure-treated deck - but the deck does help spread the weight well. Plants on the floor are mostly shade-loving, although some at midday get nailed by the sun, so there I chose semi-shade plants...

I never realized you had pressure treated wood under there. I also hid mine with the reed beach mat. It makes my floor look like tatami.

Sorry if I now point out your terrace as the standard for "awesome things that can be done in a small space." :)

I didn't imagine you would have a hose out there, though. Hence, I thought it would take hours! I've considered investing in a sink to patio hose with wand.....but I envision it exploding in my dining room or living room en route to the balconies lol.

Which shade plants do you have? I'm nearly maxed out with full sun spots and now have to tackle the shady to partial shade areas....unfamiliar territory beyond hostas and coleus, both of which I will definitely get.

I'm still a bit leery re: where the sun will hit come summer on these balconies but with daylight savings next week (already!) -- I should get a better idea. I'll probably move everything around --AGAIN!

Good to know re: your flooring. If ever I get to plan my deck out, I want something that will definitely camouflage dust, dirt and now Turface bits more than boring concrete,

I know you didn't ask me, but my balcony is completely shaded-- just bright shade. I have a tiny part sun area off the railings where I have my strawberries, herbs, and plan to see if I can nurse a few zinnias along this year.

Part sun/sun things that I have which are working ok: Star jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), oriental lilies, japanese anemones, mara des bois strawberries, thyme, mint, rosemary, sage, sempervivums, passiflora incarnata, gloriosa lilies, and several sedums. I am trying out an agave, sweet autumn clematis, and a double nasturtium this year. We'll see how that goes. I'm also considering a scented geranium. I've heard a few do well in bright shade.

These are the other things I have going which have bee successful for the past season or more: hedychiums, violets of all kinds-- odoratas, sororias, etc, streptocarpella, moss, toad lilies, liriope, lilies of the valley, foxglove, multiplying onions, secretsia, vinca minor, heron's pirouette begonia, and a silver mound artemesia.

These are things I fall planted and that are dormant/at a winter stand still, which I have a feeling will do well: ostrich ferns, maidenhair ferns, lamium, creeping jenny (lysimachia), saffron crocus.

These are total guesses as to if they'll work lol: Bearded iris. do have an opuntia which doesn't bloom, but it lives just fine. It doesn't have enough light.

I planted several daffodils like erlicheer, crocus, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, and small iris. I also planted snowdrops which have been blooming like crazy. I can report the bulbs are coming up, and they should do OK this season-- but it remains to be seen as to if they have enough light to keep flowering in other seasons.

I keep several hawthorias out there during the summer that really need shade. I have ordered achimenes which should do well. I also have an ever-growing population of begonias which I think should work fine out there.

I would think you would definitely do some of the succulents which need shade and begonias. I posted somewhere on here (I think the plans thread) a pic from the web of a Paul Hernandez and Little Bother Montgomery begonia pairing with a persian shield. I have some PS cuttings from Purple which are still living that I hope to add to my PH and LBM begonias that I just got from taylor's.

You could also work with some ferns and things like that. I have a few hardy ferns (the maidenhair and ostrich ones) and some tropical ones (like N. fluffy ruffles).

I am also trying out cobaea scandens this year to grow in with my clematis. I hope this gives you a few ideas.

Until this year, I was avoiding bringing things in and out, so a lot of my stuff was geared toward being able to leave it outside all year. I'm breaking form with my new streptocarpella, achimenes, and the begonias. If I had a warmer winter like you guys, this wouldn't really be a concern as my in-and-out plants are mostly hardy for you.

Oh! and if you're interested in roses, go for Renee. i asked all about this last year, got one, and it died-- heat stressed during shipping. But anyway, despite that, lol I think it's a good one. It's thornless and relatively short for a climber. It can take a lot of shade.

Of COURSE I'm interested in what you're growing! This "bright shade" situation is most interesting and will require experimenting. I started this thread LESS than a month ago and already I see a difference in the number of hours the back of my balconies get sun. On the same token, the sun spots for the items hanging off the balcony are also lengthening.

Right now, due to the containers I used for most of my succulents being bulky, they've been placed to the back of my patio where they get a brightness all day long (bright shade, as you called it) but direct sun is for but an hour plus a day? I have to wait and see how these do moving forward...

This is balcony 1 -- the one with full sun up front. I bought a bunch of those white balcony pot hanging thingamagics -- and it's pretty useful. It's smaller than balcony 2, but deeper. What's not shown is that further in to the left, you have two shelves full of plants--where most of the succulents are as well as my infamous gardenia, which Purple has been helping me with, haha. This was taken moments ago and today is a bit stormy and cloudy but it's still bright out there at 3:30 pm.

This is balcony 2. It's significantly wider with about 3-4 feet MORE to the left than is shown here; that part is obviously full shade. The remainder is all less full sun than balcony 1 and in the afternoon, it quickly goes into no sun as to the right of this balcony, the building juts out with an overhang to the lobby area below. That seems to block out the sun instantly.

Unlike you, my area requires me to bring in virtually nothing as we rarely hit 40* and if a plant's lowest tolerance is 50* (which is basically our entire winter) -- then either I don't get it, or it evolves quickly, haha. Thank God, because my house is full enough with houseplants -- I need outside plants to come in like I need a hole in the head.

I was browsing some ferns yesterday! Are they hard to grow? I have a Venus Maidenhair here inside, but I don't believe I've ever had ferns in my yard. In the past when I had homes, I've usually had full sun and have much, much less experience with shade plants. I'm messing with the idea of hostas and I'm definitely getting some coleus and begonias, but on balcony 2 - where most of my shade gardening would be -- you can see that the depth of the balcony is minimal; putting large pots out there means no walking area. This puts a damper in my idea of creating cascading containers w/ spillers, etc. I might have room for... uh, ONE.

After all of this, I'm of the mindset to move back to a house, haha. I find myself driving around town and looking at homes to figure out, "Is that yard facing south? No, wait...east?" It's sad, really!!

Your post is missing photos. I'd love to see!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Grace.

Yeah, I knew you didn't need to carry things in and out which is why I suggested some things like begonias. You could have those out all year. Those could add height, bloom, and leaf texture.

Ferns-- if you could get them to live inside, then you'll do fine outside! They aren't hard as long as you pick one that does well in your area with your humidity levels and temps. Then they are like anything else you may grow :)

I posted pics in the "show me yours thread" which I'll link. My stuff was all new then. My gingers burned during shipping a tad :P Everything is teeny. I have higher hopes this year for awesome! I am toward the bottom.

Do you ever go south occasionally? If so, it's worth you checking out some places like Huntington Gardens or Balboa Park. Lots of shade ideas there! I'm in the process of trying to recreate my own little piece of the West on my balcony. I'm homesick!

I do head south for work occasionally but I'm only just recently getting back into gardening. Since about 6 years ago, I live in the city (or now right outside the city) so yards have been a rarity. But this one, as soon as I saw that it was facing south, I knew I was going to return to gardening. But going from 1/4-1/2 acres with 75 rose bushes as the main stars to this limited space....well, it's still fun! And no roses. Even after six years, I do not miss spraying for aphids. Nope! That's the long way of saying: next time I had to OC, I will check out those places! :-)

I shall definitely try begonias this year. I attempted those before in the past and I remember not taking the "shade" part so seriously. Boy, did those burn up fast lol. Haven't had one since!

I went from yard to balcony, then back to various yards, then this balcony. So I am kind of the same way. I was also a rose gardener! I had 60-some OGRs. I took a break in my last yard and only had 6, but now I miss them and wish I could have had renee survive. Oh well.

I also ran across this plant in one of the Huntington conservatories. I really liked it. I got a small cutting in trade a few weeks ago and it's still alive-- hope it makes it. This may be a shade option for you as well. Lots of different kinds of impatiens.

I'm starting to see/realize that (1) the majority of my balcony itself, other than the railing area, is going to be full shade come summer; which leads to (2) holy crap, I have too many full sun plants that will all inevitably meet their maker.

Like, you see that 6-pack of petunias? Why did I buy those? Where am I supposed to put THOSE!?!
Now I'm just mixing up plants and seeing which survive and which don't!

The same applies to balcony 2 -- just worse.

The only things blasting away there are the green onions and oregano. No bueno. Like even the cerinthe are growing leggy. I chopped them all down today and moved them as much into the sun as I could, which might give them all of 30 more minutes. I don't expect that will make a big difference. The kumquat tree started to drop a few leaves daily -- so I moved it to balcony 1 and moved the gardenia to give it as much sun as possible -- which has stopped the leaf drop, but now, the full sun area looks like the balcony of a plant hoarder.

It's the point that I feel like making some kind of wooden contraption to "table" over the railing and extend the full sun square footage. Drastically. I suppose that would look horrid.

Speaking of hoarder -- has anyone ever noticed that on almost every single episode of "Hoarders" -- amidst the horrifying mess, they have a beautifully growing houseplant? Like one woman had a gorgeous Calathea amongst the stacks of garbage everywhere while I can't seem to keep one looking half decent.

Petunias can take some shade, never fear. it's looking good! You may really be stuck though with some things like begonias-- canes and rhizomatous, etc. Also lots of houseplants work in shade... oh abutilon?

Shade plants: I have Heuchera, not the typical purple one but a more laid back H. villosa. Blooms late in the season. Hardy begonias (Begonia grandis) - love them, they just keep making flowers all summer till fall; Japanese anemones, boxwood, foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia, early spring), violets, Corydalis lutea (gets about 2 hours of sun), Thalictrum (also 2 hours of sun), Hosta "Fragrant Bouquet"...I think that's it!