Q What can I grow on my south-east-facing terrace?
Jackie Stanton, Kent
A MATTHEW SAYS Given you have a sunny aspect, there is a lot you can do. My advice is to use the largest containers you can find/fit/ afford as they will always yield the best results, blow over less and need less watering.
You could grow your own veg, with beetroot, courgettes, dwarf French beans, summer salad crops and tomatoes. You’d also be able to house a neat collection of herbs, with trailing rosemary in hanging baskets to make the most of your vertical space.
If you want a purely ornamental display, especially if you have a modern-style apartment, you might like to try something contemporary with palms and succulents, using lots of blues and silvers from plants like the hardy blue fan palm, Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera,
with pots of Echeveria elegans,
and the ever-reliable and stylish Agave parryi. Add height with the silvery foliage of Cupressus arizonica var. glabra ‘Blue Ice’.