A midtown Toronto north-facing balcony, 8th floor

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I started my balcony garden in 2011, making it 6 weeks old at photo time. It is on the 8th floor, facing due north. It is long and narrow so I made 3 areas: a sitting, dining and work area. (With the addition of a couple of stools, I can seat 8 people out there.) I sit out there every day and expect to do so until the end of October! The balcony is very bright but I still planted shade and semi-shade plants. 

A downtown Toronto, east-facing balcony, 14th floor

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We live in the Annex area on the 14th floor of an apartment building. Over the six years I have lived here, I have learned that the easiest climbing plants to care for, with the prettiest flowers, to cover the walls and climb up poles, are morning glories and scarlett runners. I use seeds left by past years' blooms, now going into their 6th year. I do change the soil.

A north Toronto north-facing balcony, 22nd floor

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Our Blossoming Home (on the shadow side of life)

Many people reject a nice apartment because of what they consider to be a problem: the apartment has only one, but north-facing, balcony! The excuse for not gardening a north balcony is always the same: plants need light. But many flowers prosper without direct solar irradiation, which is good news for all the shady ones!

A west-end Toronto balcony, north-facing, 22nd floor

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I've been a balcony gardener for about 10 years, and every year I find just how much more I've still got to learn.

Here is my little piece of heaven on the 22nd floor... shady little sucker, never any direct sunlight, yet, every summer, I discover another little flowering plant said to require "full sun" that somehow manages to thrive in the shade.

I hope it can be an inspiration for somebody else living on the north side and perhaps being afraid of gardening in the shade.

Thank you Sanja

A downtown Toronto, South/South-west balcony, 24th floor

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I have enthusiastically embraced creating a green space to escape the noise of downtown Toronto. Isn't half the fun of balcony gardening its similarity to redecorating the interior of your home?

A Toronto 'Beach' Community, east-facing terrace, 3rd floor

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Our patio garden becomes our oasis away from the summer crowds of the Beach. It is a fabulous place to read, soak up the sun, and entertain.

A downtown Toronto, east-facing balcony, 20th floor

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Every summer I start my little balcony project, and this year the flowers are better than ever. The balcony is facing east, that's why I plant Petunias and Geraniums at the edge and hang Impatiens where there is less sunshine. This is a lesson learned from last year, when I planted many Impatiens and was less successful due to too much sun.

A midtown Toronto southwest-facing balcony, 7th floor

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Thank you Krysanne Klassen
Read Krysanne's reflections on her balcony garden under ARTICLES.

A north Toronto, south-facing balcony, 10th floor

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From a balcony bonsai artist:

I am 10 floors up, so the air is less humid and the wind is stronger. Some plants I keep wind-sheltered so they get dappled sunlight.

A downtown Toronto shady, 2nd floor balcony

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I’m a Master Gardener in Training with the Toronto Master Gardeners. Here are a few pictures from a project incorporating light (the hanging candles) and sound (wind chimes), as well as some herbs – bronze fennel, parsley, and rosemary. We used ferns, a variety of coleus for interesting foliage, sweet potato vine and Obsidian heuchera for contrast.

Thank you Maureen Hulbert

A downtown, south-facing balcony, 5th floor

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I've been gardening only since about 2005, but I have a few tips to share:

A downtown, 10th floor, west-facing balcony

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“The first three images reflect my 2007 experience. In spite of moving into the apartment on June 1, I had a nice “show” of blooms and plants by early August. I harvested enough fresh basil to produce over 25 lbs of fresh pesto. I also had a rose bush that did surprisingly well, called “Sea Foam”. I’m planning on framing in my balcony this year (the sun is horrific in the afternoon) but intend to plant more, particularly herbs and perhaps some more of the rare types of begonias. Vinca also does extremely well and I’m very fond of it.”

“The next four shots were taken from June to August 2008. It's been a good season; my passionflower vine has three separate vines each at least 18 feet long. Often I had as many as 10 blooms out at once.”

Thank you Reiner Kjell Hansen

A downtown Toronto, west-facing balcony, 5th floor

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The sun comes on my balcony at about 1:30 p.m. until about 8:30 p.m. At around 6 p.m. my balcony is shadowed by another building for one hour, and then the sunshine returns.

A south Etobicoke, south-facing balcony, 3rd floor

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I'm an avid balcony gardener, have been for the past couple of years. I've got one hanging tomato plant, four types of heirloom tomatoes (two to a pot), a huge storage bin that has a bundle of different herbs, green onions, several types of mint, some flowers for the bees, lavender, a hanging ivy and catnip on the floor for my cat.

A downtown Toronto north-facing balcony.

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Look what can grow in a small and sunless space! Note the mirror to catch the evening sunlight. An exotic passion flower vine grows on a wire strung around the balcony. The gloriosa or glory lily is also a climbing vine grown from a tuber each year. You would never guess that both are super easy to grow!

Thank you Paul Winsor

Landscape Ontario's 2009 Casey van Maris Award winner

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Environmental Design Landscaping Contractors Ltd. won this award for unique and innovative execution of design in landscaping, transforming a carport into a beautiful balcony space. The site challenge was to change a nondescript garden into a modern garden one with a strong aesthetic. A tired 20'x 20' inner city garden bounded by wood fencing and a picket fence looked over the parking area. The carport roof was used to visually increase the size of the garden. The carport garden area was designed using an intensive green roof approach.