You done GOOD! It looks really nice, and the windowboxes are lush and gorgeous.

I envy you the space for a table and chairs, and the proposed grill! My plant addiction has totally ruled those out on my terrace!

Congratulations!

PV

Very classy and elegant. You have made a beautiful and relaxing refuge for yourself. Great job !!
-Sprout

I love the window boxes because they are so colourful and full. I like the others as well. Next year, try planting in colour themes to make those roses really stand out. Take your pink roses and plant in pinks and whites below. And on the yellow one, plant yellow and white. Those roses would really pop. I especially love the lime green creeping jenny. It is so lovely. Roses are a great choice of colour!!!

I love it! Really great job. I am a wee bit envious too since I have 8'4" square balcony with an awning. It's not bad but not quite what I'd like. When I get my digital camera I'll post a picture - hopefully with something blooming by then (weather is terrible here, rain, rain and more rain).

Love the rose and you have quite an eye for mixed plantings! As PV noted, many of us have packed up our spots so much that we can't even sit out there anymore. LOL Looks like your neighbor is growing plants too. Good to see more people with balconies are giving it a shot!

I love what you've done with the floor ... how exactly was that assembled? Is it tiles that mimic individual stones? I have a second floor balcony and would love to do something similar.... TIA

I too love the stone floor. You will have to tell.. The floor really allows you to get away with less expensive containers.

Keep up the good work.

You said you don't know what you are doing, but you don't look like a beginner by any stretch of the imagination. I like your "cottage style" planter (window box), and you made a great choice with the bricks too, BTW.

I'm new to container planting - if you ever need suggestions, the container gardening forum is a great place for advice (you seem to have more of a knack for it than I do, however).

I also arranged a window box this year, and only recently transplanted into other containers...in doing so, I found that it was one big root system (I could pull it out in one piece and it was a 36" planter). Yikes! I had sweet potato vine, 2 coleus plants, black potato vine, alyssum, and ivy. I think it was the vines...huge root systems.

So, next year I have to consider the number of plants in one planter - early in the season it will be ok, but as the roots grow the need for fertilizer and water increases with it (I learned the hard way).

Have you considered planting clematis vines? I think they'd look fabulous on your balcony and it would be a great splash of color! You could grow them in pots up a small trellis or obelisk. Check out the clematis forum if you are interested.

Are you open to constructive feedback? I think the bistro set would look spectacular if you positioned it more to the left or right, rather than direcly in the middle. Since your balcony is symmetrical, asymmetry would be a nice balance. And instead of the chairs being directly across from eachother, you can place them both facing outward (see my picture). This might not work for various reasons, and I can't tell where your "exit" is based on these pictures, but it doesn't hurt to play around with it and see what works.

Good luck with decorating your balcony - it looks fabulous, and you've only just begun.

{{gwi:2693}}

Im so jealous of your balcony space! its so large! my balcony is about 10 feet at the most! and you did an awesome job! no problems I see! I would have had the table and grill as well out there! thanks for sharing pics with us!!!!

Wow,great job! What did you do with the concrete surface? What a big change! Don't worry if something doesn't work long-term. Just keep trying. The difference between a brown thumb and a green thumb is that one gives up and another keeps trying.

I think that is very very pretty! Congratulations.

I am concentrating on vegetables, but I am so delighted by the flowers on the few companion plants (to attract bugs away from the vegetables) I grew that I plan to grow more in future.

I love your roses! They are so huge! Do you have a pic of the one with all the buds when it bloomed? I'd love to see that!

You could alway use some cool fabric or trim along your railings. I like to use fabric, it's so unpermanent and simple to do - use velcro even!