A BALCONY GARDEN: BERYLWALDORF

In 1999 I decided to move from my house in Arkley to an apartment in Totteridge. As I was leaving a rather large garden in which I had spent most of my spare time, one of the main conditions of my new home was that I had some where to continue my favourite hobby.

I was fortune enough to be offered a flat in a lovely Georgian house but the main factor was that it had a beautiful balcony - or perhaps it should be called a terrace as it is approximately 18 foot by 22 foot. My main problem at the time was filling the many window boxes with soil and having them fixed to the wall. I also placed window boxes on the balustrade. This is an extra precaution against any unwelcome visitors.

For the first three or four years, I filled the boxes with spring flowers and then geraniums. It was during this period that I decided to enter the Barnet in Bloom competition and for the next two years won awards. I also won certificates for London in Bloom. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to enter as the little tree which flourishes in the front garden has reached the balcony and one of the criteria for entering the competition is that the plants must be seen from the road outside the house.

I now have a small shed, a table and six chairs and half a barrel which is my fish pond. As there seems to be a certain amount of protection, many of my unusual plants flourish even during the winter months. In January I saw a bumble bee in the garden. My larger plants are dracena, gardenias, bottlebrush, laurustinus, oleander, olive tree and climbing rose, which covers the shed and intertwines with various clematis plants.

My main problems are slugs, which happily climb the wall; snails, which also manage to climb to the first floor and my cat, Holly. Although he has his own litter box, he seems to enjoy climbing onto my pots and leaving little deposits for me.

My year seems to start in October when I replace the annuals with spring bulbs, wallflowers and pansies or violas. I try to keep to a colour scheme which I change every year. The addition of fresh soil proves a bit of a problem, as living on the first floor it is necessary to dispose of the old by bagging it, taking it downstairs and putting it on the communal garden. Even then, on a frosty morning the sheer delight of opening the door and smelling the pansies and jasmine makes everything worthwhile.

When the bulb season is over, I decide which annuals I would like to see in the window boxes. Last year I chose pink dianthus with trailing lobelia, which made a lovely display. I have tried morning glory but have never been very successful. Two years ago I brought back from Spain a small piece of mesembryanthemum. I planted it, not expecting it to survive our winters and it has spread like wildfire. It is mostly green with a tiny red flower and it helps to fill the spaces.

Unfortunately, Totteridge Lane is a busy and noisy thoroughfare, but I literally wake up with the birds and on a fine day morning before 7 o'clock I have my breakfast on my balcony surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. After 8 in the evening most of the traffic has passed and I can once more relax with a cold drink and book in my 'garden'.

Beryl Waldorf