As you might know, if you’ve read some of my previous posts;
Leaving the house is more of a rare privilege to me than an every day thing.
Considering my love of all things nature (except for spiders… and things that can fly or jump at me in general… ^^’) , this has proven to be a somewhat painful situation more than a few times – Especially when the sun is shining bright and warm and the birds are teasing me with their cheerful chants.
What a happy coincidence my current living space came with a balcony!
Said balcony has a grand total of 1,8m2 which isn’t a lot to work with at all… but as it turns out, it’s plenty to make for a peaceful little nook! ^^
Barren Beginnings
When I first arrived here, it was the middle of november. The unfamiliar view of a large city emphasised by the grey, bleak shadow of winter, stretching its cold fingers to drain the colour from everything in sight.
I’d be lying if I’d say I liked what I saw.
The little nook carved out of the house’s wall, fenced off by a cold, metal railing, painted bright blue as if that would somehow make it appear more friendly, was already decided to be nothing but an extension of a window. The depressing view of the giant parking lot in front adding insult to injury – what unjustice I did this little place!
It started with rebellion.
I struggled a lot to get used to the new place and the full trains and busses of a large city didn’t exactly help.
I was so overwhelmed by just trying to get settled into fully new circumstances, that the decision to go outside was simultaneously the decision to spend the next few days in bed with a headache, forced by my own brain to play what I can only describe as “meltdown-russian-roulette”.
I needed to give myself time to adjust…
And I took that personally!
If I can’t come outside – the outside just has to come to me!
But maybe not too much…
Us having a direct view of a giant parking lot also meant the parking lot had a direct view at us – that needed to change!
On top of that, the stone tiles on the floor of the balcony weren’t only unsightly, but also quite damadged in some places and I neither wanted cold feet, nor cuts from stepping on sharp edged cracks.
To combat those issues and start making it cozy, I installed this bamboo-cover on the railing, along with a light outdoor-curtain.
(I’d love to include a propper “before”-picture, but without the cover in place it just revealed too much about my location)
For the wooden tiles on the floor, I used IKEA “RUNNEN” tiles.
I made the desicion to get started on this project in the beginning of april, which collided with the outdoor-decorating-plans of apparently everyone else in the entire country, as these thing were sold out EVERYWHERE for ages!
So I’d highly recommend starting early if you want to have some of these out before spring ends.
While The Grass Gets Greener On The Other Side
With privacy achieved and the floor prepared, the project threatened to come to a halt while waiting for a cushion delivery, to create a cozy little seating corner.
However, by this time, my ability to leave the house had improved enough to take occasional walks and little trips to nearby stores. And if there’s one thing that helps a neurodivergent brain to extend its own limits it’s a hyperfocus!
I knew I wanted the balcony to become somewhat of a green oasis, so obviously, I needed some plants!
Don’t get too attached to the flowers…. they didn’t make it >-<
On a trip to the hardware store, where I intended to get some flowers, planters and basic gardening supplies, I spontaneously decided on trying to implement an idea I had originally discarded due to the lack of space – I wanted to plant some crops.
Yes – on less than 2m2 on which I also wanted a comfortable seating area, flowers, herbs
and enough free space to not feel cluttered.
It was around this time that my partner started voicing his doubt I’d actually be able to pull this off. Still, supportive as he is, he not only encouraged me to give it a try regardless of the laws of physics, but also carried the heavy pack of soil all the way back home for me. <3
I ended up getting two planters to hang on the railing – the inner one intended for herbs, the outer one to have flowers and ivy, to decorate the outside of the railing.
For crops, I got a mini-tomato plant. a mini cucumber plant and a pepperoni plant, all of which I planted in the same little basket.
It might be a tiiiny little bit small for all of them, but I wanted to give it a try this way, since it would be amazingly place efficient and look great if it worked!
For the herbs, I wanted to have plants both on a window sill inside aswell as in the green planter and in some pots I still had laying around, which just so happened to tie it all together into one quite cohesive colour palette
Since the hardware store didn’t really have herbs, I decided to give ordering plants online a try and chose a mix of mediterranean and locally common plants.
Meanwhile, the seating cushions and outdoor friendly blanket I ordered had arrived as well! ^^
To my surprise, around this time, the view out from the balcony completely changed as well. The sad looking stumps and twigs behind the fence of the parking lot next door started bursting in a million shades of green!
Soon, our sad little grey patch in front of the window started to shine in bright light and colour and I ended up extra glad I chose mainly mediterranean and hard wearing plants, as the first heat wave had the sun blasting down on my new little sanctuary so harshly, my flowers outside of the railing burned to a crisp in the matter of a single, blazing afternoon.
I’m still happy having just ivy lacing the railing – I love this plant and it always has a beautifully whimsical feel to me!
We Grow And We Learn
I’m absolutely in love with this space now!
The curtains offer privacy and protection from the sun, without drowning the balcony in shadow and since I hung it up on a tension rod, I can always adjust the height and placement, should I ever need to.
The cushions are IKEA “Frösön” with the beige “Duvholmen” covers. I think they’re meant to be used on top of their outdoor furniture, but for now – due to budget and space restrictions – I decided to use them as floor cushions.
They’re nice and thick, so they feel like sitting on a couch even when placed directly on the floor, and I actually really like the freedom that comes with loose pillows as I can arrange them however and wherever I want with minimal effort.
I’m considering getting a second set of them eventually, just to have the option to stack them, create a corner with the back cushions or have my legs stretched out without them laying on the floor.
The modular system is working really well for me at the moment, both for the seating arrangement as well as the plants.
I’m already making plans on how to improve the setup for next year, what plants I’d like to have and how to create a little crop-patch.
The balcony looks well filled on pictures and it certainly doesn’t feel barren when spending time there, but the more my plants grow and thrive, the more of them I want and the more corners I find where I’m certain I can improve the system.
I also noticed that while I love the idea of growing herbs… we just don’t use them.
I’m thinking of replacing most of them with flowers and crops next year.
(Part of me really wants to see if I can get a little flowering mini-tree like plant or something like blueberries to work on there – but I’ll save that kind of crazy for future me ^^)
Reaping Success Sews Inspiration
The thrill everytime I find a new blossom, fresh leaves sprouting from a stem or even tiny fruit starting to develop on my plants.
I’m afraid there’s no turning back for me now. I have become a plant-person.
One of these people that have the constant urge to get more plants, take pride in caring for them, get genuinely emotionally attached – I get it now!
To be fair – I knew I was for a long time but my utter inabillity to keep even a cactus alive prevented me from getting into gardening for the longest time.
And to be perfectly honest: It still happenes.
I forget plants exist, let them toast in the sun or whilt in a corner. The typical experience of an ADHD brain being responsible for stationary, living things that can’t remind me they exist and to please not wander off to an all day hyperfocus because I saw something interesting on the way to water them.
But I’m getting better!
So – in case you’re an aspiring gardener with the attention span of a- … wait what were we just talking about?
Here’s some things that have helped me stay on track so far:
– using a plant-care app to remind me to check on my plants regularly
– having all my gardening tools in a basket right in front of the balcony so they’re in reach
– using my phone calendar with reminders to use fertiliser (mainly for my indoor plants)
– living with someone (a “Hey, didn’t you say you’d go do x?” can be incredibly helpful)
I’d love to end this post by mentioning I wrote it while enjoying my new little cozy corner, but unfortunately the past few days have been way too hot to spend multiple hours typing away somewhere that isn’t right in front of a fan.
Maybe it’s time for a little rant about heat, sensory struggles and summer-friendly projects ^^
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my rambling!
May your days be filled with cheerful chants and lucious growth
Have a wonderful week
Snowdrop