"The other day while he was fertilizing the grass he decided that since I hadn't yet fertilized the garden, he would spread some lawn fertilizer on the gardens. I was not pleased but he gave me the 'fertilizer is fertilizer' speech and I hoped for the best. Unfortunately, the worst seems to have happened. Although some plants seem unaffected, many perennials and annuals have slumped over and look quite limp. Some are also developing brown spots on the leaves. Is there anything I can do to mitigate the damage? I am hoping that all the rain in the last two days may have diluted the fertilizer but I would still like to know anything I can be doing to help the plants recover."

O'[Neil] gardened for 20 years before moving to the northwest-facing highrise five years ago. She's tried all kinds of plants on her balcony but her favourite is Helichrysum (licorice plant) for its ability to withstand wind. She prunes an inch off each growing tip weekly to make it grow bushy and full. A cup and saucer vine (Cobaea scandens) grows about a foot a day, she says. Early on she found that plants at the edge of the balcony tended to flower over the edge and out of view. So, she's moved most of her pots back towards the walls and windows where they benefit from the extra light and heat reflected off the glass.

O'Neil wanted to share their "garden" with paper subscribers. Consider it done. With the extra challenges facing gardeners this year, particularly "cliff-dwelling" gardeners, I'd say she's done spectacularly.