ARTICLES
Winter Reflections on My Balcony Garden (February 2002)
by Krys Klassen is an enthusiastic amateur balcony gardener with twenty years on a southwest facing seventh floor balcony.
Well, isn’t this an unusual season? My annuals, with the exception of the pansies, survived until Christmas Eve. I saw evidence of similar anomalies at ground level. The winter 2001/02 is going to be a source of gardening fish stories for some time. And at this rate pansies are going to be considered perennial and year-round. They looked a bit taken aback after the coldest night so far (-7 degrees Celsius) but revived as soon as the temperatures rose.
Herbs on a Balcony
by Krys Klassen, an enthusiastic amateur balcony gardener with twenty years on a southwest facing seventh floor balcony
Well, so long as he’s not going to jump… what’s the problem? Basically, the problem with herbs on balconies is small to nonexistent, if you have enough sun.
Sound in the Garden
by Krys Klassen is an enthusiastic amateur balcony gardener with twenty years on a southwest facing seventh floor balcony.
We talk about scented gardens, and edible gardens, and texture in gardens but who mentions sound in the garden? I’m not talking Japanese temple bells or wind chimes or piped in music or even trickling water, but the woodwinds in rustling grasses, the xylophone in fluttering leaves and the tambourine of seed heads. On a wind blasted balcony over a siren-soaked street, the sounds of the horticultural orchestra are an incalculable, but frequently unexplored, pleasure.
Summer Squash – A versatile, easy-to-grow crop for containers
by Steven Biggs, writer and garden blogger
The meals on the cross-country Via Rail train featured plates inspired by well-known Canadian ingredients such as bison, salmon, and maple syrup. So I was a bit surprised when I saw a cluster of top-like vegetable on my plate, some bright yellow, some forest green, and some a translucent white. I didn’t realize that, despite the exotic appearance, I was staring at cousins of the common zucchini, fellow summer squashes.
Edibles for the Lazy Balcony Gardener
by Krys Klassen is an enthusiastic amateur balcony gardener with twenty years on a southwest facing seventh floor balcony.
The lazy balcony gardener (me) really likes to grow greens and herbs. Being able to step outside and harvest parts of a meal, critical ingredients or last minute embellishments, is a great convenience. With a little thoughtful planning, those elements can also provide decorative touches.
