lonelyfirefly's Profile

If you're into clouds, you might like to check out The Cloud Appreciation Society website. No kidding, there's really a Cloud Appreciation Society! Here's the link - http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/. And their manifesto:

WE BELIEVE that clouds are unjustly maligned and that life would be immeasurably poorer without them.

We think that they are Nature’s poetry, and the most egalitarian of her displays, since
everyone can have a fantastic view of them.

We pledge to fight ‘blue-sky thinking’ wherever we find it. Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day after day.

We seek to remind people that clouds are expressions of the atmosphere’s moods, and can be read like those of a person’s countenance.

Clouds are so commonplace that their beauty is often overlooked. They are for dreamers and their contemplation benefits the soul. Indeed, all who consider the shapes they see in them will save on psychoanalysis bills.

And so we say to all who’ll listen: Look up, marvel at the ephemeral beauty, and live life with your head in the clouds!

Maybe take a look at some of the traditional Japanese treatments of spaces like this, that are meant to be looked at, not entered. If you think of the view from the window as a frame for a landscape scene in miniature, you can compose something beautiful - a Japanese garden (check out keywords 'tsuboniwa', or courtyard garden, in Google Images) example might use some sculptural dwarf conifers, large boulders, a dwarf Japanese maple, river rocks, bamboo screens and vines. You don't mention where you live, which is important for knowing what kinds of plants will survive the winters. A living succulent wall, for example, would have to be brought indoors in most areas of Canada (except for some parts of BC) unless you're ok with it dying over the winter, while a Japanese maple would probably fry in an enclosed space like this in some of the southern US states. You also need to take into account your light exposure - do you get a lot of sun, is it shady most of the day? If you're not going to be able to get at it to water it you'll need to specialize in xeriscape plantings suitable for your planting zone. Basically, there are a lot of things to consider here, but this little space has the potential to become a very nice little "landscape scene" if you do it intelligently.
The planning and layout of courtyard gardens such as tsuboniwa can be applied to any style, so if you're not into a Zen look, adapt it to your preference. Just make sure you're choosing plants that can withstand your conditions, or else just plant lots of annuals in containers and install a crude irrigation system to help look after it.

Could you tell me where you got that great horsetail plant which I see in the planter of the balcony? I wasn't aware that it could be bought commercially... Great looking plant for containers! (yes I am a plant geek)
Oh, and the rest of the place is great too - you have a wonderful eye for proportion and scale, and a nice, light aesthetic which is very appealing!