Little Prairie on the Balcony, 2024

Surprised by the unexpected arrival of springtime this year, I suddenly recognized the opportunity to revive the balcony garden of our apartment. For the past two years the balcony has laid fallow, because I was out of town for weeks at a time. This summer, I'm here for the duration of the growing season and the balcony garden is back with a vengeance.

The advantage of grasses

I've previously described my choice of plants for the balcony. But to summarize, the space is often challenged by intense afternoon sun and heat - sometimes up to 125F - reflecting off of the glass windows; the wind up here on the 13th floor can tear apart any plant stem that isn't firmly staked; and the entire balcony is steeped in deep shade until 1:00 in the afternoon when the direct sunlight slips past the edge of the balcony ceiling.

Grasses offer the advantage of being tolerant to drought, adapted to wind, and easy to manage. I like how they soften the hard edges of the cityscape. Because this variety of grass stays upright after the growing season, they can be enjoyed both in the summer, through the fall and most of the winter.

Blue arrow rush, Juncus inflexus

Blue arrow rush takes the lead

I've tested a couple different grasses but, so far, I find blue arrow rush - native to the prairie of Minnesota - to be the most durable. I especially like the blue-green color of the blades in summer, and the red-gold color in the fall and winter. I've tried other grasses: blue oat grass, little bluestem grass, and Japanese Hakone grass, but they didn't thrive in our harsh environment.

Planting for a uniform look

I like the uniform look of planter boxes stretched across the length of the balcony. Looking out at the skyline, there is a diversity of building textures and colors. Interesting, but not settling. The continuous line of grass on the balcony, wafting in the breeze, lends a bit of rest to the view.

Briefly, I chose 12-inch (5 gal) planter bags for ease of use, and set them inside fiberglass boxes (48”x12”x12”) to create a uniform, clean looking profile. There are 3 bags in each of 8 boxes. That adds up to 72 pots of grass. Yes it gets expensive, but I did get a 25% discount for volume from the nursery where I bought the plants and supplies.

I admit, I'm not too proud about all those un-green plastic pots going to waste.

Here is a link to a detailed description of the process of preparing and filling the planter boxes.

One 5 gallon bag, holding 3 pots of grass

Each fiberglass planter box can hold three of the 5-gallon bags

Watering in a high-rise

There is no water spigot on our balcony, unsurprisingly. Thank goodness there is an outdoor power socket. So to help ensure the plants don't die of thirst my partner, Tom - bless him! - has installed a 15-gallon reservoir at one end of the balcony, next to the grill. He has installed an aquarium pump and connected a wireless, internet-controlled device to manage the watering schedule.

Attached to the pump is a series of plastic irrigation tubes and emitter spikes. They deliver water to each grow bag, 2 emitter spikes per bag. The pump is scheduled to run water 4 times during daylight hours. Each run of the pump lasts 5 minutes.

This year, Tom has also installed moisture sensors into the grasses to prohibit watering if the soil is already damp. My job is to ensure the tank is adequately full. Which means I'm out there every day with my bucket to replenish the tank; the grasses can suck up about 10 gallons a day at the height of the summer heat.

Set up of the irrigation tubing and emitter spikes, connected to the water tank

Defying the heat and wind!

In addition to the grasses, this year I'm also planting a few herbs and one pot of cherry tomatoes. The herbs are Mediterranean plants, well adapted to the conditions of our balcony. I have pots of rosemary, sage, and flat parsley. They've done well on the balcony in past years, without too much care other than water. Perhaps I'll add thyme.

The cherry tomatoes (husky red cherry) will have to be closely watched and well supported since they tend to whip back and forth in wind if they're unstaked. I chose the low bush - determinate - variety of tomatoes for that reason.

Husky cherry red tomatoes

Parsley, sage, rosemary... awaiting the arrival of thyme

Grasses taking the edge off the skyline