When Oliver and his partner Marcus moved to their north-east London flat six years ago, the 5m by 1.5m balcony was just used to store bikes. But Oliver soon set about turning it into a relaxing haven, surrounded by greenery. His passion for gardening began with house plants, then expanded to propagation and trying out different plants.
First came the Malaga-inspired red pelargoniums. The couple then made a few aesthetic changes to the walls and floor. They also wanted foliage to cool the space, which gets sun for most of the day.
The many challenges of balcony gardening include keeping everything watered in summer, so they soon moved to larger pots to aid this, filling them with a range of perennials, annuals and succulents to create a colourful tutti-frutti effect. A natural ecosystem also evolved, regularly visited by birds and insects.
The balcony is now a hive of creativity and nature - a tiny but richly planted garden that's the perfect, patience-teaching, slow-living antidote to busy city life.
What inspired your garden?
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A new plot for tasty crops
Taking on a new allotment needn't be hard work. By simply following a few easy tips you can have bumper crops in no time, just like Alessandro Vitale
We love July
July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
Now, at the height of summer, Frances Tophill shows how to boost your plants' health and productivity with a timely cut
Hassle-free harvests
Flowers are out in abundance this month and for Jack Wallington, many of these blooms make delicious, low-effort pickings
Bite-sized bounties
Glorious doorstep harvests can easily turn into gluts, so let Rukmini Iyer's recipes help you savour every last bit
Upcycled outdoor living
Create unique and stylish garden features for minimal cost using reclaimed materials and simple DIY skills. Helen Riches shares four step-by-step projects and more inspiring eco tips
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Buildings and landscapes can play a vital role in supercharging your space, as Nick Bailey demonstrates
Greening up a city balcony
Looking for sustainable, small-space gardening ideas? Take inspiration from Oliver Hymans' transformed balcony garden in north-east London - now a lush, green haven for humans and wildlife
The dry and mighty garden
As we adapt our gardens to a more volatile climate, Alan Titchmarsh reveals how to create a drought-tolerant plot and picks his top plant performers
Nature knows best
Carol Klein explains how to choose plants for specific growing conditions, based on what has naturally adapted to thrive there
