MY GARDEN LIFE

Specialising in small-space gardening and the ever-expanding trend of container planting, Isabelle Palmer of The Balcony Gardener is deftly positioned to transform bijou outdoor areas into ‘the fifth room’

- TERESA CONWAY

Q What first sparked your interest in gardening?

My family have been avid gardeners for generations, so the seed was sown at a young age and I vividly remember my first taste of planting was a strawberry plant. In keeping with the family tradition, I also got my two-year-old her first strawberry plant this summer and she was still talking about it weeks after it had stopped fruiting.

Q How did The Balcony Gardener come about?

When I first moved to London I had a flat with two very small balconies – it was a contrast to the large garden I was used to growing up and I wanted to recreate a piece of that in my new home. When it came to populating the space with plants and furniture, I felt that there wasn’t the range of outdoor products available in the UK that suited my taste. It was also difficult to find anything that wasn’t made of plastic, so I began sourcing beautiful pots crafted from natural materials from countries like Sweden and creating and selling ready-made containers online. From there I started designing bespoke spaces for clients. My mentality throughout my career has always been to say yes to opportunities and find a way to make them work.

Q Containers or landscaping?