A Cottage Garden Squeezed onto a Narrow Balcony

Cottage gardening has never really been about acres of lawn and a sweeping herbaceous border. It is about abundance in whatever space you have, and a mews home with a slim balcony running along the first floor offers more than enough room for a proper little herb garden. Herbs suit this style of growing beautifully: they are generous, they smell wonderful when you brush past them, and most of them positively thrive in the warm, sheltered microclimate that a balcony against a brick wall creates. The trick is to be honest about the space you have, choose your containers with care, and then keep on top of the watering through the warm months.

Choosing Pots That Earn Their Space

On a narrow balcony, every pot has to justify itself. Go deep rather than wide wherever you can. Rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano all develop long, searching root systems, and a shallow bowl will leave them stunted and gasping by mid-July. As a rule, aim for containers at least 25–30cm deep and 25cm across for a single mature herb.

• Drainage is non-negotiable. Check for holes before you buy, and add a layer of crocks or broken terracotta over the base so water never sits against the roots.
• Terracotta breathes and suits the cottage look, but dries out faster. Glazed pots hold moisture longer, which is a real advantage on a windy balcony.
• Mind the weight. Mews balconies are often modest structures. Place the heaviest pots close to the wall or over the supporting joists, and use a peat-free multipurpose compost bulked out with horticultural grit for drainage.
• Raise pots on feet so air can move underneath and water can drain clear of the surface below.

Grouping the Sun-Worshippers Together

The Mediterranean herbs are the backbone of any balcony herb patch, and they all want the same conditions: full sun, sharp drainage and a soil that is on the lean side. Rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, marjoram and lavender should be gathered at the sunniest end of the balcony, ideally against a south- or west-facing wall that soaks up heat during the day and releases it slowly overnight.

Basil is the exception. It loves warmth but hates drying out and benefits from a richer compost and a little more feeding, so give it its own pot nearby. Mint must always be grown separately, as its runners will invade everything else given half a chance. Parsley, chives and coriander prefer a touch of shade and more consistent moisture, so tuck them towards the shadier end or beneath taller pots where they will not bake.

Watering Little and Often During Warm Spells

Balcony pots dry out far faster than border soil. Wind strips moisture from the leaves, and brickwork reflects heat back onto the compost. During a warm spell in June or July, you may need to water twice a day, and a single generous soak once a week simply will not do the job.

Water little and often, checking the compost each morning by pushing a finger in about 2cm deep. If it feels dry at that depth, water. Do it early in the morning or in the cool of the evening, and water until it trickles out of the drainage holes. Never leave pots standing in a saucer of water for long, particularly on a mews balcony where it can pool and stain the stone below.

A top-dressing of horticultural grit or gravel over the compost surface slows evaporation and keeps the base of the stems dry, which Mediterranean herbs appreciate enormously.

Feeding, Pinching and Keeping the Harvest Coming

Container herbs exhaust their compost within a couple of months. From late spring onwards, give a liquid feed every fortnight. Mediterranean herbs want it at half strength, while basil, parsley and chives will take full strength. A tomato feed is ideal once flowering begins.

Pinch out the growing tips of basil regularly to keep it bushy and to stop it running to seed. Remove flower buds from basil and coriander as soon as they appear, but leave thyme, rosemary and lavender to bloom — the bees adore them and the flowers are a lovely thing to brush past. Never take more than a third of a plant at once, and always harvest from the top down.

Making the Most of Every Centimetre

A narrow balcony rewards a little vertical thinking. Tiered staging, railing planters, wall brackets and sturdy hooks all lift pots into the light and free up floor space for a folding chair. Group pots closely so their leaves shade one another's compost and create a humid little pocket of green.

Come autumn, move tender herbs such as basil indoors to a bright windowsill. Rosemary is hardy but detests wet roots in winter, so raise its pot onto feet and shelter it from the worst of the driving rain. Each spring, scrape off the top 5cm of compost and replace it with fresh. Do that, and even the narrowest mews balcony will give you handfuls of herbs from April right through to the first frosts.