The Urban Gardener: How to Grow Things Successfully on Balconies, Terraces, Decks and Rooftops

Pleasance Crawford is the co-author of The Canadian Landscape and Garden
History Directory and Garden Voices: Two Centuries of Canadian Garden
Writing.

Sonia Day is the “Condo Gardens” columnist for The Toronto Star, a
contributor to Canadian Gardening, and the author of two other books on
gardening. This book, subtitled How to Grow Things Successfully on
Balconies, Terraces, Decks and Rooftops, is certainly not the first word
on the topic; nor will it be the last. That said, it is an excellent
primer for those new to apartment or condo living and a useful review
even for those who have gardened off the ground, in containers, for many
years.

Day’s first piece of good advice to is to choose a unit that provides
optimum growing conditions. Her next is to avoid a garden design so
inflexible that you can’t enjoy grouping and regrouping containers and
experimenting with different plant combinations. She offers excellent
tips on choosing containers and growing mixes; watering and fertilizing;
and making wise plant selections. Her chapters on choosing sturdy,
drought-resistant plants (i.e., annuals, perennials, geraniums, roses,
summer bulbs, herbs, vegetables, vines, shrubs, and trees) include lists
of plants likely to succeed and those to avoid. Later chapters provide
insights on gardening in difficult sites, dealing with pests,
compensating for physical disabilities, and helping plants and
containers survive winter. Throughout the book, Day reminds readers
about wind factors and safety concerns, and inserts brief “Hot Tips”
from experienced balcony gardeners. In “Where to Go for More
Information,” she suggests consulting websites, master gardeners, and
fellow off-the-ground gardeners.

The book is up-to-date and easy to read, and its advice, although
occasionally contradictory, is generally sound and sensible.