Ask Leonie

QDear Leonie, I hope you can help me with this. I live in a very exposed semi-detached house on the Mayo coast and I have a small balcony overlooking the sea. The views are amazing but the balcony is barely big enough to fit a small planter of about 30cm x 1.5m. I would love to put out a planter, especially as it’s my bedroom but I have no idea what to plant in it. Can you give me some advice what would do well here? My style is a mix of vintage and eclectic.

Jane

QHi Jane, and thanks for your email. You are very lucky to be living on the coast and to have such gorgeous views but you are right, planting can be very tricky. Not only do plants have to deal with the extreme winds of the Atlantic in Mayo but also the high salt content of the wind. Then on top of that, the high levels of rain experienced here makes the soil more acidic meaning that most plants will struggle to thrive. I often plant up gardens on the coast and it really is a challenge. First of all, grasses do very well in coastal climates but many are not suited to smaller planters. I love Astelias – the Silver Shadow variety is lovely and near-indestructible. Having said that, I have the feeling you would like something a little more ornamental, especially if the planter will become the view from your bed! One plant that I have found does amazingly well in salty, windy conditions is the dianthus. These pretty – and vintage in feel – evergreen flowers can take a lot of salt and wind and an added bonus of growing them is that they are deliciously scented. I love planting them up in large blocks and adding in a few other flowers as a bonus. How about some osteopermum in the mix for an added colour splash and maybe a few aubrieta to cascade down the side of the balcony? One thing to make absolutely sure here is to keep the container well watered. The salty wind has the tendency to dry soil out so completely that even the hardiest plants fail so give it plenty of water!