Our apartment came with some reasonable garden space just 100 meters from our flat. But not everything I could grow in the U.S. grows well here. Tomatoes for instance must be in a green house or on a balcony to do well in the Bern area. I do love to grow pumpkins however and had reasonable success in my garden last year. This year I obtained some special seed from the U.S. and am trying for a pumpkin over 250 kg. Any other gardening fans out there? I'd love to chat and hear about your interests, successes and failures in the garden. Maybe I could even get you to put some geraniums on your balcony for the summer?! Your not really Swiss unless you have geraniums.

Junior Birdman

When our roses are blooming, eventually I will make a few pics. Right
now they are all full, the first bloom should be really nice!

Have about 16 Roses, 1 mini Japanese Maple and a mix of flowers, grass
and weeds.

Hey Scott, your garden sounds like, well, a typical American garden! I've never had a knack for roses though. I used to be a lawn guy in the U.S. for 3 yrs. That is, I improved the beauty and value of people's lawns by making their grass look nice. Pitiful really. But it paid O.K. I rather like the Swiss gardens better. And lawns with daffodils, pansys, and oh yes, lots of weeds in them.

I have nothing against a few weeds or dandelions - especially
the wild flowers that grow in the grass, that brings life into the
green mass.

For those who have not got access to a garden and fancy giving it a go, get an allotment. Growing all the veg we cannot get here, swede, parsnips and curly cabbage. What dis very well last year was aubergines (eggplant) in a sunny location. Have seen Kiwis growing here on a north facing patch. Tomatoes were hit by tomato blight, so they need to be covered in a greenhouse or similar, to avoid this air borne disease.

I grew some of those last year. They like turfed ground, preferably waterlogged. I harvested them in late spring, and once peeled, they were delicious, if a little stringy.

and gnomes...

I wish you good luck with your garden ,I try somting new this year upside down tomatos

Don't understand this problem growing tomatoes outside. I grow four or five varieties from seed and rear 'em all outside with no problems. But the soil needs to be warm, they need full sun, regular watering and weekly feeds. I don't plant mine out till the last week of May. Same with aubergines and peppers. Granted I'm a bit further south than Bern but under an hour's drive away and I'm away from the lakeshore so we don't get the milder micro climate. Onions, leaks, cabbages, brussel sprouts, lettuce, parsnips all do well. My only disaster is broad beans which I've tried a couple of times with poor results. I'm trying to grow some figs but I reckon the climate might not be hot enough.

Tomato blight http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile...ato_blight.asp

One minute the tomatoes were looking great, within 4-5 days they were finished.

Yeah I've had it occasionally in the UK but never here. I'd put it down to the summers being too dry here for the fungus to thrive. Also I don't grow potatoes here so there's no risk of cross infection . You can spray infected plants but you have to be quick. As you say, the disease progresses at lightening speed.

I rent an allotment in Neu-Affoltern. I am a beginner so luckily the previous tenant planted a lot of nice things. I mostly enjoy eating: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, white-currants, red-currants, gooseberries.

For best results, ensure they are cooked till "all black"

dear all
i have the same problem that jb started with - my south african gardening skills are completely redundant here (like most of my xhosa!).
i would like to plant some scrubs in containers on our balcony to hopefully act as a buffer for bahnhofstrasse noise...could anyone suggest a book on swiss garden plants? i've been to the zulauf nursery - realy impressive place but interestingly expensive (i'm not of the rich expat variety that i read about in another thread, lol) - if i fork out that kind of dough i need to make the right choice!
the balcony has morning shade but full afternoon sun and is only 1 storey above serious pavement - so the heat glare fries moisture out of anything...i thought about holly - looks strong and i like the berries - any comments
hope you can point me in the right direction?
sd
ps. planted 12 boxes of geraniums that are now in brilliant pink and red bloom - i've never felt so foreign in my life - my gardening friends back home would have a heart attack if they saw what granny plants i have these days - but it looks g-or-geous!!!

This is my first summer here so I was unsure what to grow. I decided to go with what I know, so I have tomotoes, courgette, radish, lettuce, rocket, beans and some herbs and for flowers I have sweet peas, thumbergia, honeysuckle, jasmine and of course geraniums on my balcony-which look beautuful! I don't have a garden but I do have 2 balconies so lots of room to grow more stuff...off to Obi later I think!

I did a quick Google and came up with this fantastic site:

http://www.lavendelfoto.de/en/index.htm

If you do an advanced search with "sun" and "heat" you'll find masses of plants which obviously like both. Rain and wet will probably also be a useful search option

Now I know where I'm going to spend the next half-hour

It's hard to say without seeing how big your balcony is and the type of construction. If you want shrubs then you need a certain amount of space. Another consideration is the amount of light - is the balcony fronted by a glass wall or a concrete wall?
I would've thought Holly would not suitable for a balcony. It's a tough old plant but it's really a tree, grows quite big, is hard to clip nicely because the leaves are so big and needs tons of water in hot weather otherwise the leaves dessicate and turn an ugly brown.

I would recommend evergreen shrubs which are suitable for topiary.

Japanese Holly (Ilex Crenata) can be clipped and would be suitable if you could find it.

A shrub which does really well in pots and can tolerate shade and sun is "box" latin name buxus. You can buy it anywhere here. It's ideal for balconies because it is compact, slow growing, it's not heavy, it can be clipped to keep it in check and it's evergreen for year round colour. You can find it anywhere in garden centres. Buy the ball shape on a single stem (a bit like a lillipop) to give height.
http://photos.plantes-et-jardins.com...vertespace.jpg

Another option would be a Bay tree bush.
http://www.gardini.ie/plants/bay.htm

Remember to never let them dry out.

thanks Nev_i'll send you photos of our efforts! the balcony is fronted by a rail - no glass or concrete...
i liked the holly as well but our monster of a 5 year old would not be able to keep his arms and legs to himself! so the thorns were an issue...i lost the vote!
we saw an ivy schrub that doesn't creep (!?) that we quite like and J likes something with a green and white leave as well...they are both evergreen (went to zulauf in schinznach dorf - expensive but extensive (LOL)!)
so looking forward to a gardening weekend!
sd

i'm looking for some new balcony plant ideas for this year.

whatcha got growing that you like?

(pics appreciated)