Features.

 

 

tremendous resource. Not only

 

Gardening for $10 per month

can you purchase what you
need, but you can also ask
their experienced staff

 

 

 

Your summer balcony
garden:

Creating a
summer garden
is more
economical
than you think

KATHRYN GUENETTE

alconies lined with baskets
B overflowing with the purples,

yellows, and reds of summer
flowers are not luxuries suitable only
for people with large disposable
incomes. Living on a limited budget
doesn't have to limit your desire for a
beautiful balcony garden. You can
indulge in the beauty of the season's
colours and fragrances, and have the
satisfaction of cultivating and
nurturing plants for as little as $10
per month. And what better time of
year to start planning your garden
than right now as the gardening
season begins to pick up momentum.

Planning makes a difference

efore putting your hard-earned
RB cash on the counter, do some
planning. First, figure out how

page 14 the Other Press

much space you have to work with.
Do you want your containers to sit
on tiers? Do you want hanging
baskets? How about a trellis for your
climbing beans or sweet peas? You
can find items to build structures for
containers at minimal cost at garage
sales or in the back of lumberyards
where they keep their wood scraps.

Do you want your garden to have a
theme? You may prefer a particular
colour scheme or style, a certain
collection of scents, or a garden that
attracts butterflies or birds. Or if you
want your garden to serve a practical
purpose, you may want to consider a
vegetable or herb garden.

One of the keys to planning is budg-
eting.

creating a balcony garden and

you want to work with a $10 per
month budget, you may have to build
it one container per month
throughout the season. But by the
end of the summer you can have six
or seven containers spilling with
colour. By the end of the season you
will have pots, a balcony plan, and a
summer's worth of experience to add
to next summer's garden.

I this is your first attempt at

Your local garden centre should be
able to help you get started.
Throughout your gardening
excursions, a garden centre is a

June 1999

 

questions about your
gardening needs and concerns.

Pots that show your style

hen you think of pots for
We plants, don't be
constrained by the

traditional bucket-type of container.
Explore your creative side and see
what you come up with.

Try an old boot
or tire, wooden
boxes, cups, tin
buckets, tin
cans, pitchers
bowls, or

baskets.

By foraging through tables at garage
sales or thrift stores you can dig up
some creative and inexpensive
containers for your plants. Some
garden centres have pot exchanges,
at which you can trade smaller pots
in for bigger ones for free or at a
minimal cost.

The most important requirement of
any pot is its good drainage. If your
pot is going to sit directly on the