Name:Ly
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Type of space: Balcony
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: Our balcony is quite small (6x11 feet) but I was determined to create a personal garden space while living in the city. The view is a wonderful panoramic of Philly's financial district high-rises, and I wanted a balance between that metal and glass beauty with a natural, green peacefulness. It is a relaxing escape from the city and work, and a quiet place to sit outside. As you can see, my cat would much rather be out here than in our apartment...
How did you create it? This was my first attempt at container gardening (apart from many indoor plants), so I was trying to use my backyard gardens from childhood and in the past as a guide to plants and care. I also recently moved from Vermont to Philadelphia, so I was excited to start growing in a much warmer climate with an earlier growing season. Many of the plants I started indoor from seed, and others were gifts or from a local nursery. I decided for this year to stick with herbs and flowers given the limited space (rather than vegetables that I had grown in my previous gardens). This is still a work in progress — the metal railings and brick wall will (hopefully) be covered with morning glory, moonflower, scarlet runner bean, and sweetpea vines by the end of the summer to give some vertical height to the planter boxes.
Recommended store, site, product or resource? Renee's Garden is an excellent heirloom seed source, Greens Grow is a local Philly nursery and I definitely got some ideas from looking at Apartment Therapy and flickr photos of other people's projects.
(Re-edited from a post originally published 6.23.09 - NM)
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I love your space, it looks like it would make a wonderful spot to relax on a summer's night. Your little lanterns make it so cozy, and your kitty looks plenty comfortable too! Great photos by the way, especially love the night shot.
great photos and looks like a relaxing place. how did you get your kitty to stay groundid?
Doesn't your kitty ever try to go over the edge? This is such a lovely space.
another argument for AT: Philly???
So comfy. Do you have to cart the cushions inside during inclement weather or are they treated with something? They look custom made--do tell.
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com
Greensgrow totally rocks. I've been buying my plants from them for 5 years. They have a huge selection, and even carry heirloom varieties. Greensgrow has a very friendly and knowledgeable staff, and their selection expands every year. They even carry fruit trees if you have the room. They are a nonprofit who's grounds were originally a brownfield site.
www.greensgrow.org
As a 501(3)c organization, I often wander if my plants are tax-deductible :)
Hello: I am so happy to see this entry. As I always say, i love to see a real balcony on a real budget: it's inspiring and it helps me say "i can do that too".
I will be soon renovating my flat and creating a terrace which will roughly be the same size as yours. I had completely dumped the idea of an outside sofa cause I assumed it would fill up the space, but now I think it's a definite possibility. What sofa choice do you advise? I agree with fishgirl Kathy: tell us more about the couch!
Hey Ly, if you ever decide to move out, give me a holler! :)
And I agree with thepictures, let's get our own AT here in Philly!
Some commendations...and some concerns.
I love your plants and couch. The round lanterns take the cake. Your cat is amazing.
Concerns:
weather ruining your sofa
your cat falling off the balcony
I have to ask . . . where did the seating come from? It's fantastic and it would work SO well on my own 'balcony' . . .
Looks like you have a great project!
Growing veggies in containers isn't too hard. I'm having some success with veggies on my 6x8 balcony garden. I got a lot of good ideas and advice from a book called McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container – I highly recommend it.
Love the garden and your cat looks just like mine did - and also loved to be upside down and have her belly scratched!
that couch looks like pottery barn/pb teen. now discontinued.
http://www.pbteen.com/products/p3308/?pkey=x|4|1||6|outdoor||0&cm_src=SCH
thanks everyone!
in answering your questions, no james the cat is luckily not quite that stupid to jump many floors off the balcony, although many friends have also been worried about her. More of a problem has been her wandering off to the neighbor's balconies for hours at a time, although now that the plants are grown up she is more or less blocked in.
the couch is from pottery barn- it was last season's low cheasapeak sectional, which in a very early excitement for summer, I ordered back in march- the 2 chair pieces came immediately, but the cushions (which are waterproof, and do not need to come inside) were backordered until about last week and i was torn between ordering this year's 3X more expensive but almost the same cushions to have them immediately- i'm glad i held out and the discontinued ones finally came! it comes in corner and center chair pieces, which after some careful measuring, I decided that two center chairs would fit perfectly with the wall and railing acting as sides. So they do separate, and can be individual chairs if i someday move to a larger balcony. they're very comfortable, and deep so easy to curl up in. I definitely recommend them, although maybe not at PB's high full price.
and I agree about AT Philly!
I'm totally using this as my style inspiration for my balcony. It is perfection!
I love seeing people really use their outside space. I always think that there's a lot of wasted balconies out there! Nice work, and that seating looks like such a good choice.
I dont think it is an issue of a cat being stupid as an issue of a cat being a cat. One of mine falls off the bed on a regular basis just because she is being silly, or because i move my foot underneath the blanket and in her sleep state it scares her. I live 7 stories up and would never in a million years let my furry roomates out on the balcony.
I love that couch and am really disappointed that it's discontinued.
Something kind of similar would be two of these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90168368/
Love it and a beautiful kitty is the perfect finishing touch. :-)
Great use of space. I like that AT has such cat affection =)
I let my cat on my 2nd story balcony all the time. She loves lounging outside and doesn't show the slightest interest in trying to fit through similarly sized bars.
I'll second (or third) the call for an AT Philly, great spots all over that city.