Moonlit balcony renovation November 2006
This balcony has everthing going for it.
To start with, the owner cooks and smokes - there will be fresh kitchen scraps for worm compost making, and lots of time spent in the company of whatever plants we plant. He has a practical, not just romantic reason to be growing herbs up there - he needs them.
With a nice park to view, and the owner, Minoru-san, working from home in a creative job, there will be plenty of excuses to spend daylight hours out there, inadvertantly watering and caring for things, enjoying and investing care and attention on its inhabitats. Needing a dose of inspriation.
Being a covered, north-facing balcony means all but the railing part will get shade from the high sun in summer, but will have low winter sun bathing the back wall in cozy sunbeams, a pleasant situation for living things. 
What have we got here?
The timber pieces are free offcuts that will be layed on the concrete for a soft look. They have just been stained that pretty color with the dark liquid there, bitter persimmon juice, Kaki-shibu, which will act as a natural preservative.
The plastic bowl will be a first-draft pond - you don't need everything perfect (and expensive) at once. The charcoal is what the Japanese do to keep the water 'fresh'. I'm not sure how.
This design is by our friend
Tomoko, who will be the balcony Godmother - a balcony garden needs at least one to be truly enchanting - someone to go to when things go wrong. Or beautifully right.
Every balcony project also needs a plan, or even multiple plans, something dreamier than the obvious, that promises to expand your life. Reality brings a halt to about half of them, but thats okay. Plans get ideas flowing.
The Bamboo stick clothesline is pegless - you 'dress' it like a doll with your clothes, through the armholes, etc. Why didn't I think of that?
Weekly futon-sunning is an essential function of a balcony. I didn't think of that either. We have futon bases instead, to stop humidity building up in futon beds, and cannot use the room for other functions during the day.
Maki, from my tuesday class always thrills us with her cute design. Here is her design for Minoru's balcony. You can see an actual version of that quirky mobile herb tower in
Megans blog.
Megans Herb tower also functions as a worm-farm, with a holey huge jar seeping out the liquid fertiliser, and the whole lot slightly warming, not burning the soil as it decomposes.
We are hoping to find a reader who has succeeded in 'tapping into' the downpipe for water harvesting - please send us your story.
Coming back from the nursery with a trolly-full of these fragrant, flowering plants was the same feeling as when I came home from the hospital with mum and another of her new babies - proud and hopeful.
It is just occouring to me that there are no new joys in life. That we spend our adult life re-creating the childhood ones. Or is it just me?
We tried restraint with shopping, just getting enough for the 'bones' of the garden. Why...?
*'start small' is a permaculture principle. Succeed or fail on a small scale, then graduate to more.
*Get real. Freinds can bring seedlings and cuttings at a 'balcony warming' party. Then it will be a balcony with and extended family to care for it, be interested in it, visit it at holiday time, and praise the fruit and flowers when they come. Gardens with everything brought from a shop look like ..... a shop.
Here are some things we chose:
Yuzu, to make Japanese fragrant citrus dressing. Lemons are cheap in shops, but yuzu is rarer, special.
Chives, Basil, mint for mint tea are some of the useful herbs, and since winter is coming, they are in a basket that can be brought inside, behind the glass door.
He can eat the yellow marigold petals in salads. We gave up planting lettuces, etc, and planted bulbs instead. Spring will bring irises and hyacynth, and then we can start planting seeds. The worm farm will have a batch of delicious castings to pot things in by then, so we hope.
Balcony gardens look liked framed paintings if you restrict yourself to carefully-composed colors. Minoru selected blue and purple for all the flowers, brightened by some yellow. Here is Bourage, beautiful edible blue flowers for summer salads, floating in drinks.
Flowering onion is so beautiful too.
The third picture's flower was taken in Omotesando, its a lovely perinnial tree-like plant, I don't know the name, but enjoyed it everywhere. It may need bringing in from the worst winter wind though.
Design by Yvvone from Holland, another Tuesday Permaculture student. Those Dutch love gardening, and are great problem solvers, every one I have met. I want to go there in the spring, make Dutch gardens.
Photo by minoru, November 2006
In the gaps between the floorboards, we tucked chipbark and low groundcover plants.
Babies Tears for the shady places, and some with starlike blue flowers. If they survive, he can plant more in the spring. Fragarant Chamomile lawn would be beautiful and useful. Because the pots are small, they will need a lot of attention or they will dry and die. Even with a conscientious owner, I guess they have a 30% chance.
How is Minoru's balcony going?
Ask him Here
Its winter now, but hopefully things are holding out.
Please give Minoru encouragement and advice.
He has a new-born baby balcony garden.
It lets you heat yourself, not the air around you. You use five minutes microwave energy, instead of a whole night of heater energy. You don't get sleepy breathing in all that warm air.
I take a warm wheatbag and breakfast up to my balcony every morning through the winter. I took my Japanese textbook up there too, and stayed there studying for as long as it was cozy. Cocooned in another world. Wheatbags mean your investment in a balcony garden is one you can enjoy all year round. They are proof that you can reduce your energy usage not just by 10 percent, but by 10 times, if you get creative. Without sacrificing anything of value. Good Permaculture.
Windmills to keep your gardening spirits up on shady, windy, non-flowering balconies -
wheatbags made from recycled dresses
This one from kitty-litter box and seedling trays cost $20, and can be made to match your sofa.
