Dave Hill wrote:

I have a fairly large balcony in Italy,
with table and chairs on it,
and my wife wants to put several large pot-plants there.
I'm wondering about the best way to keep them damp
during our absence?

The balcony is off the kitchen, so I could (possibly)
get an outdoor tap on the balcony,
and some sort of automatic watering system.
(We have a Hozelock automatic system in the small garden,
which works perfectly.)

But is there any other, simpler, solution?

I am wondering if your balcony is strong enough to take the extra
weight of several large pot-plants
If they are in large pots then they could be heavy, best to keep them
close to the building to reduce the stress.

Thanks very much for your response.
Actually, the balcony is over the ceiling of the floor below,
and I'm pretty sure there will be no problem with weight -
four of us sometimes eat out there.

Uou don't say how long they will be left to fend for them selves, a
week or two is one thing but a couple of months or so is something
else.

It could certainly be a couple of months.

Try to select plants that will do well without to much water, such as
Olives, Mimosa, Lavender and many more.

OK, thanks, I've noted those.

Hozelock automatic system sounds the best bet or a neighbour to water
as required.

Sadly, our friend the painter next door has moved away ...

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin