Greening up a city balcony

Looking for sustainable, small-space gardening ideas? Take inspiration from Oliver Hymans' transformed balcony garden in north-east London - now a lush, green haven for humans and wildlife

- Oliver Hymans

When Oliver and his partner Marcus moved to their north-east London flat six years ago, the 5m by 1.5m balcony was just used to store bikes. But Oliver soon set about turning it into a relaxing haven, surrounded by greenery. His passion for gardening began with house plants, then expanded to propagation and trying out different plants.

First came the Malaga-inspired red pelargoniums. The couple then made a few aesthetic changes to the walls and floor. They also wanted foliage to cool the space, which gets sun for most of the day.

The many challenges of balcony gardening include keeping everything watered in summer, so they soon moved to larger pots to aid this, filling them with a range of perennials, annuals and succulents to create a colourful tutti-frutti effect. A natural ecosystem also evolved, regularly visited by birds and insects.

The balcony is now a hive of creativity and nature - a tiny but richly planted garden that's the perfect, patience-teaching, slow-living antidote to busy city life.

What inspired your garden?