Balcony Landscape

Immediately after moving into my new place last December, I began to design a landscape for the very small balcony space.  The dimensions of the space are about 5'x10' so there isn't much room.  I also decided I was not going to get into dealing with veggies -- the space is too small.  Instead, I began thinking of ways I could get as much mileage out of the plants I selected -- I wanted a big visual effect, without cluttering the space and losing square footage for furniture.

Imagine my pleasure when I saw that these 7 gallon containers (from the boxwood I planted at my folks' place) fit so perfectly in this vinyl chest I found at target.  The chest was being sold as a storage container for seat cushions and other outdoor furnishings, but by unscrewing the lid, it make a great planter.  It's also far cheaper than getting a custom fiberglass trough (something I was idly considering).  The chest's bottom sits about 1.5" above the ground, so I filled tupperware containers with styrofoam peanuts to support the weight of the pots and not destroy the "planter's" bottom.

As far as the plant selection, as I had considered in an earlier post, I decided to use Forsythia.  All the reasons I'd avoid using this plant in a landscape made it a perfect candidate here: I wanted something that was inexpensive, fast growing, drought tolerant, cold tolerant (I'm hoping they overwinter in the pots due to the warmer balcony microclimate) and something that could be worked as an espalier plant.  I have yet to see an espalier Forsythia but I knew the plant was "bendy" enough to handle being wired to the trellises I had bought at Home Depot. Eventually, I will pick up some moss to cover the pots and further the illusion that this is one unified trough planter.

Last of course, lighting.  The building doesn't have GFI's on the balcony and I didn't want to have the wall mounted fixture on -- it's glaringly bright.  The perfect solution: solar powered twinkle lights. I bought one strand and tested it for a week or two -- it seemed to collect enough sunlight to power the battery until around 3AM.  After a few nights, I bought another string. 

It's hard to see in the photo above but they do cast a lovely soft glow, definitely enough to see the face of the person you're sharing a glass of wine with.  I still need to putter around with a more careful placement of the individual bulbs, but I foresee many pleasant summer nights on this balcony! The photo below is a night shot, but with a flash.

I need furniture, but I haven't quite decided what I want yet.  I'm thinking metal bistro table and chairs for meals and working, but haven't found a set I love.  More on that to come.  Overall I'm quite happy.  The forsythia is pleasant enough in the spring but I'm looking forward to having a green wall all summer long.  I also am enjoying the instant effect that comes with its size.  Finally, as frequently as I travel, I am fairly certain this will weather drought.  And since I may not be in this apartment for long, I won't be disappointed when I demo this, as I may have if it was an espalier apple or magnolia.

More on Longwood Garden's Green Wall

Below, Philodendron scandens and Asparagus setaceus.

Below, Selaginella (spike moss) and a mystery plant.  Anyone recognize what's on the bottom?

Philodendron scandens. 

 

Below, Pteris ensiformis (brake fern) and perhaps Hoya?

Rabbit's foot fern (Davallia). 

 

And again, perhaps this is Hoya?  Any other suggestions?

Check out a great account on the development of the wall on Longwood Garden's blog. 

Longwood Garden's Green Wall

To round out this recent spate of green wall posts, I'm sharing some photos of Longwood Garden's newest contribution.  This wall opened last year as part of the underground extension of the conservatory.   The rooms in this hallway are public restrooms, and the arc of the hallway directly relates to the terraced grass amphitheater that has been added to the above-ground, outdoor space, designed by Kim Wilkie. 

 

Obviously, the skylights will significantly aid in the success of the plantings,though I suspect that the wall may have grow-lights on it after the conservatory closes to the public. 

The structure is quite different in appearance to the Rubenstein Atrium, in that metal grids seems to be holding the plants up in an exposed cellular pattern.  This kind of infrastructure, if it exists at Lincoln Center, is hidden behind matting.
 

The base of the wall is different as well.  I prefer this arrangement - with the wall simply draining into the grate below.  Come to think of it, I'd love to know if the water from the restroom sinks is routed here as well - it seems like a great opportunity to recycle the both sources of gray water.

More on the species selection this afternoon.

Patrick Blanc

While it can be argued that green walls have been in existence for hundred of years in one form or another, the popular, high-design resurgence they have had recently can be traced back to Patrick Blanc, a French artist and botanist, without much argument. 

Blanc has been designing green walls (or vertical gardens) for almost twenty years but his green wall on Jean Nouvel's building for the Musee de Quai Branly marks perhaps his transition to maintstream recognition.  His work includes interior and exterior spaces.  I visited the Branly shortly after it opened in 2006.

What I like most about Blanc's work is his horticultural variety and flair for mixing textures.  Above you have Hostas, next to creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) that is interrupted by tufts of fern.

In the photo below, tendrils of Jasminum nudiflorum are tangled with Hosta leaves.  

Even more original, below, Heuchera is planted next to Mahonia.   I'd love to get back to the museum sometime soon and see how it's faring.  Including winter jasmine and Mahonia are imperative with an exterior wall, since the wall could look a bit bare in winter if the herbaceous plants die back. 

More on the David Rubenstein Atrium

I think the best visual effect of the green wall is the painterly grouping of different species of plants - the broad strokes of alternating color and texture can be striking.  This shot below is of the east side's wall.  This wall seems to be doing a bit more successfully than the one on the west side - the plantings are thicker - and I'm not sure if that's because there's less traffic in and out of the atrium on this side (and thus fewer drafts of winter wind), the lighting is stronger, or the species selection is better. 

Below is a shot of the west side wall and you can see the points of juncture between the plant and wall.  The system seems quite similar to Patrick Blanc's famous walls (more about him and his walls later this week), though it's hard to know what's going on underneath the matting (without getting kicked out of the space, that is).

Above, from bottom center clockwise to the right: one lone croton (Codiaeum variegatum), song of India (Pleomele reflexa), Boston ferns (Nephrolepis exaltata), and philodendron (Philodendron selloum).  I'm curious to see how the wall fares; I would have thought plants like Philodendron, which is native to shady tropical jungles, would have different light and moisture requirements than Pleomele which is native to India.  Surely though, this has all been worked out.

Above, peace lily (Spathiphyllum), boston fern, song of India and croton.  The other observation is the difference in plant habit.  Upright plants like song of India reveal more of the matting than a fuller plant with pendulous leaves, like the ferns.

Lincoln Center David Rubenstein Atrium

So, as I threatened last week, I did indeed make it to the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.  The atrium is a ticketing center for Lincoln Center and was designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. The actual green wall installation is by Plant Wall Design, a company based in both New York and France.    

 

Above is the west entry of the Atrium - the space cuts through a narrow block between Columbus Avenue and Broadway.  Two green walls greet visitors as they enter the doors.  This one - on the west side - begins about 18" above ground level.  The peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) are planted horizontally in this planter. 

Grow-lights are sited on the other side of the Atrium.  More on this in posts to come. 

This above photo is shamefully out of focus, but I'm including it to show the absence of GFIs in the floor.  I saw a few instances where laptops were plugged into outlets several feet away.  It seems utterly crazy to me -- a new installation that's so wanting in tech support, so to speak.

 

Here we're on the east side of the Atrium, looking west.  This wall begins only about 6-9" above the ground level.  On the left, you see the descending metal rods that comprise a water feature.  

Water drips down into the lighted canisters on the left and bubblers circulate water on the right. To me, the shot below tells a story most designers can relate to.  I can understand the impulse for the fountain to be offset from the wall behind it by several feet.  It makes sense, as it breaks up the tunnel effect and adds some much-needed asymmetry to a long, narrow space. 

And then what happens?  Operations (or a similar entity) plops down a trash can in the corner!  And I get it -- it's a natural space to nestle in a trash bin.  But I hate that when I stopped to take this picture, a garbage can is muddying up the design.  I'm very curious if this was discussed before construction documents were complete.  It illustrates perfectly how important it is that, as designers, we anticipate every aspect of the daily life of the design and test our concepts against that.