Kennington balcony

A sunny, south-facing terrace

 

Natural materials and sun-loving plants

The owners wanted container planting to enhance their outside space, and preferred natural materials. We brought in woven rattan planters and modern terracotta, plus a range of sun-loving plants, including evergreens, flowering plants and grasses.

 

Scroll down to see the design sketch and some initial photos. We used mainly smaller plants which will grow into their pots, hence the close-up photos.

​​

Foliage and bare space

Running across the full width of the balcony is a waist-height ledge. It doubles as a table or bench so we didn't cover it with pots, but clustered plants at each end. The owners now have beautiful plants at eye level, visible from indoors.

In small spaces, it's useful to green up the vertical planes. We repotted the couple's existing jasmine and added a Passiflora (passion flower), trained on a modern metal trellis.

 

Growing medium

Container-grown plants have the best chance of thriving when planted in the right substrate. We used specific combinations of compost, grit and other substrates, tailored to each species.

​

Watering

This balcony gets unrelenting sunshine on the hottest days. It's usually a few degrees warmer than a local park or garden, because heat radiates from the bricks and paving. We used a variety of methods to keep water available to the roots of each plant. This helps conserve water and means the owners won't have to water as frequently.

 

Caring for the plants

The owners were given an easy-to-follow care guide, to help them look after their new plants. It covers each newly-added species and explains some need-to-know information on the care of container-grown plants.
​

This balcony was planted in spring 2026.