As those recent photos of space from Artemis II so majestically show, the horizon is not fixed. It all depends on where you’re watching from. A hot new gardening trend is adopting this fresh point of view.
Instead of growing traditional “ground” gardens, condo owners and apartment dwellers are tilting the horizon and planting vertically. They are literally using the air for space, creating the kind of place where, instead of looking down to see what’s blooming, you look up. In this landscape, or air-scape, your garden looks at you.
Of course, small yards and balconies have never lent themselves to the usual “horizontal” style of gardening. So planting upwards has always been the answer for urban (and suburban) herbalistas who don’t have any land to work with. But the popularity of vertical gardening is most certainly, ahem, on the rise.
For example, I live in an apartment with a large balcony and would like to grow food as well as flowers. It seems like a big ask. But the vertical gardening gurus simply say: Go for it.
Big planting pots of about 15 to 20 litres are now out there, all ready to go. I’ve filled them with lighter style soil than if planting in the ground, and made sure there’s lots of good drainage.
Three different kinds of morning glory vines (pink Scarlet O’Hara, violet Grandpa Ott and the self-explanatory Heavenly Blues) are ready to start climbing once the weather permits — and I’m also going to plant the climbing heirloom peas called Little Marvel.
Growing upwards is not the only trick vines can do, so I’ll also plant them in a hanging basket or two and have some foliage and flowers tumbling down over the balcony. A bright nasturtium vine of hot yellow and orange flowers will make a nice contrast to the morning glories, and I even hope to train all the vines to cover as much of my windows as they can manage. I’m hoping the greenery will help block the sun that cooks my apartment to cinders every day from noon until sunset.
Then comes the food.
First will be my “soup garden,” with herbs like thyme, basil, rosemary, sorrel and sage. Some will be in pots, but others will reside in true vertical gardening fashion in growing bags or hanging baskets.
Then there will be the “salad garden” of chives, a big planter of kale, another of arugula and a heirloom cherry tomato plant.
Finally, there will be a folly — because what garden worth its salt doesn’t have something that borders on crazy? I think this might take the form of a zucchini plant. I’ve researched, and apparently it can be done if you have a minimum five-gallon pot and the kind of personality that can surrender to dreams that can’t always be defended.
You just have to get used to looking up.