Some balcony gardeners plant their containers tightly and have full displays right away. Instant gratification makes sense with the North’s short growing season.
In contrast, if the instructions say that plants should start out six inches apart to give them room to expand, I plant them six inches apart. My pots don’t look impressive until midsummer, but I enjoy watching plants grow. Buying fewer of them also saves money.
This year tested my methods. Half of the impatiens plants died after heavy spring rainfalls. More impatiens and some coleus were tried and also withered. The containers looked skimpier than usual in July. At that rate, I’d still be looking at bare soil in the fall. It was time for the big gun: sweet potato vines.