Greens rise high

To some, a garden is not a garden without grass, shrubs and flowerbeds. But for Fiona Taggart Latchin, gardening is all about creating a green retreat in her balcony to escape the city blues, even if it means growing plants in containers. The spacious balcony of her 16th-floor waterfront apartment in Sharjah is a breezy setting for terracotta pots blooming with leafy perennials.

Fiona, who grew up in Carlisle in the UK, has inherited her love for plants from her parents. "We had a big, walled garden with a solid brick wall running all the way round for shelter and warmth. My parents spent all their free time in the garden tending to the plants, but, those days, my own contribution to gardening was limited to picking up caterpillars from nasturtiums.

It was only after I married and shifted to Kent, outside London, that I got a hands-on experience of gardening. My first apartment had a tiny garden, but the next home had a bigger garden and it was there that I first practised growing and killing plants. I'm very much a trial and error person and my errors, unfortunately, lead to the death of my plants," she says.

Build it anew

When Fiona first arrived in Sharjah about seven years ago, she missed the green landscape she had left behind. Having always lived in homes with gardens, she was determined to have some greenery in her balcony to fulfil her need for a lush outdoor space.

Given a choice, Fiona would love to have a large ground-level garden with tall climbers and shrubs, but the reason she has not considered moving to a villa is because she runs a restaurant called Café Berlin on the ground floor of the same building and finds it convenient to operate her business from where she lives.

"I'm not very comfortable living in an apartment, but the big balcony and the café downstairs are two reasons why I have not considered moving to any other place. Having a balcony garden makes apartment living much easier. You can grow anything on a balcony — even trees and shrubs," Fiona says.

The long, undulating balcony has a western exposure. So, it receives sunshine during afternoons. Most of the plants grown here can withstand buffeting winds and the scorching sun. Despite these challenging conditions, some 40 potted plants, of different sizes, jazz up the place. A sinuous balustrade with curved ornamental posts provides a solid architectural backdrop to the potted plants.

Do the swing thing

A swing seat in the centre of the balcony and a round table with chairs create an inviting sitting area. Surrounded by a dense cluster of container plants, including a young frangipani and a gardenia shrub with glossy green foliage, the swing creates a cosy spot for relaxing. Sitting here, you can view the entire Buhaira Corniche, Khalid Lagoon, the Arabian Gulf and even the distant skyline of Dubai. The ongoing construction has blocked some of the view, but it is still a beautiful sight and Fiona likes to sit here in the evening, surrounded by her plants. "When the sun goes down, it spreads a red glow, which is just beautiful."

A cluster of easy-to-grow leafy succulents, such as Devil's backbone or zigzag plant (Pedilanthus tithymaloides) and crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii), thrive in full sun to provide a lush-green backdrop. Planted en masse in large terracotta pots, they provide year-round greenery in the balcony. Other foliage plants providing lush colours are Umbrella Palm (Cyperus alternifolium), asparagus fern (Asparagus setaceus), Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) and screw pine (Pandanus veitchii).

Most plants are foliage plants but a handful of blooming shrubs add eye-catching colours to the balcony. White and magenta bougainvilleas and Ixora shrubs bearing striking red flowers provide stunning highlights. But, according to Fiona, Ixora is a demanding shrub that needs a lot of coaxing and care to present its best blooms.

One of Fiona's favourite plants is Tradescantia, which unexpectedly landed on her balcony one day. "It must have arrived [with] the wind and started growing on its own. This prolific plant can be easily grown from cuttings. The brilliant purple foliage provides a lively contrast and the best thing about this plant is you can't kill it. It is one of the few plants that thrives even when I go on a long vacation," Fiona says.

Fiona's favourite gardening task is watering her plants. She heads for her balcony at six every morning, holding a watering can in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

However, watering some 40-odd plants is a time-consuming chore (small pots exposed to the full sun need to be watered twice a day in summers). That makes Fiona feel one of the most difficult aspects of maintaining a balcony garden is finding a holiday stand-in to take care of the plants in your absence.

Need cool answers

Even with regular watering, some plants don't survive when the weather gets too hot. "This year, I was away [for] two months and some plants died. Others are still on their way to recovery. I'm trying to revive them with a lot of tender loving care," Fiona says.

But despite setbacks and challenges, Fiona enjoys taking care of her balcony garden, which she feels is an extension of her living space. "A balcony is your outdoor room and a little effort gives you somewhere pretty to sit and rest in the evenings, especially during winters.

Unfortunately, nowadays, fewer buildings [have] big balconies. I believe all flats should have balconies, as it is important for people to be able to step out of their accommodation and enjoy their private outdoor space," Fiona says.

— Chandana Roy is a UAE-based gardening enthusiast

Fiona's tips: Beautifying your balcony

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