Apartment living does mean having to share space.  But sometimes you would like your private space to remain a little bit more private.  Many new apartments face onto inner courtyards….along with plenty of other apartments….

This apartment balcony is typical of many apartments built over the past few years.  While you may get on with your neighbours, you do not want to feel on full view all the time.

In this case, two slimline troughs planted with upright bays help to  overcome the issue of privacy.  These planters don’t take up too much space yet the bays help to break the view from the adjoining balconies.

On the other side of this balcony there was the same problem….

Again, two troughs planted with upright bays help screen the balcony from sight of other neighbours.  In these spaces, while it is not possible to block out the veiws of other balconies completely, nevertheless clever planting can help obscure the view to some extent without offending your neighbours.

Sometimes where there is no next door neighbour to offend, you can afford to be a little more dramatic and ambitious in blocking out unsightly views.  In this case it was an ugly wall to the side.

Here lush bamboos in chalk finish pots provide a dense screen from the  unsighly view.  The bamboos also rustle in any breeze which can help ameliorate noise.  They are therefore useful on balconies or other areas that suffer from noise from a busy roadway for instance.  Pink phormiums add interest to the front of the planters.

Here a series of chalk  finish pots create an interesting planting scheme on a balcony.  The Feijoas on a frame interlink the pots and create a fantastic evergreen screen from neighbouring balconies across a courtyard.  Ferns add interest to the front of the pots.

Tags: apartments, balconies, bamboos, chalk finish pots, feijoa, ferns, planters, privacy, troughs, upright bays, www.mertondesign.ie
Posted in Garden Design • John • No Comments »