Inside the Chelsea Balcony Garden

When most people think of a show garden, they picture sweeping lawns and generous borders. A Little Garden of Shared Knowledge proved something different - that a first-floor balcony, carefully designed, can hold just as much depth, story and horticultural ambition as a garden ten times its size.

Here's a closer look at how the garden came together.

A little Garden of Shared Knowledge sponsored by Viking

The Brief

The garden was designed for a well-travelled, retired creative couple with a deep passion for horticulture and the arts. Having recently downsized to a London townhouse to be closer to cultural life, they remained deeply committed to gardening and their balcony became a place to nurture that, and to pass it on.

The brief wasn't just to create something beautiful. It was to create a space that fostered intergenerational conne

Design Elements

Every material in this garden earned its place. The flooring used handmade cement tiles, bringing pattern and warmth underfoot in a space where every surface matters. A bespoke pergola provided structure overhead, framing the space and giving height to what would otherwise be a flat, low-lying plot. Wall-mounted lighting extended the garden's use into the evening, while rattan furniture brought softness and comfort to the seating area.

None of these choices happened in isolation. Each one was selected to work with the others - building a cohesive, layered space rather than a collection of individual features.

Zoning a Small Space

The real design challenge of a balcony garden isn't styling - it's zoning. Every function needs its own space, but nothing can afford to be wasted.

The garden was divided into distinct areas: a seating zone for connection and conversation, a potting table for hands-on nurturing, and a planting zone that did double duty as both a productive growing space and a softening, atmospheric backdrop. A mix of fixed and movable pots gave the layout flexibility - allowing the space to be rearranged and adapted as the seasons, and the gardeners' needs, changed.

Climbing Vitis vinifera (grapevine) was trained up and across the pergola, doing the work of both planting and structure at once - adding shade, privacy and a distinctly Mediterranean character without taking up valuable floor space.

Planting With Purpose

Nothing in the planting plan was decorative for decoration's sake. Every plant had a job to do - often more than one.

Heirloom tomato varieties, strawberries, redcurrants and a productive pomegranate tree sat alongside companion herbs like thyme, oregano, lemon verbena and lemon balm, chosen for scent and flavour as much as their role supporting the wider planting scheme. Marigolds and nasturtiums added colour while doing the quiet work of deterring pests and supporting pollinators.

Ornamentally, Grevillea 'Jean O'Neill', an Australian native - brought architectural structure and a personal nod to a Mediterranean and Australian design philosophy. Craspedia globosa added bold, drumstick-shaped colour, while Argyranthemum frutescens 'Madeira' cascaded softly over pots, bringing movement and lightness to the space.

Dwarf varieties did much of the practical heavy lifting throughout - compact enough for containers, sturdy enough for an exposed balcony, and generous at harvest time despite their size.

Balcony Garden Planting

What It Proved

A Little Garden of Shared Knowledge wasn't designed to impress with scale. It was designed to prove a point: that thoughtful zoning, considered materials and purposeful planting can turn even the smallest urban space into something productive, beautiful and genuinely meaningful.

It's a principle that applies just as much to a London balcony as it does to a full residential garden and one that shapes every project taken on, regardless of size.

Katerina Kantalis at Chelsea Flower Show 2026