A balcony jungle visited by squawking exotic birds might seem more likely in Singapore than Sydenham but designer Virginia Armstrong has created just such a slice of the tropics outside her 1960s house in south London, and given it all the retro chic of the island scenes in Dr No.

A balcony may be small but it’s precious. It’s an effortless escape to the great outdoors; an urban eyrie; our own private piece of sky. Balconies are now considered so vital to the wellbeing of people living in cities in fact, that almost every new flat built in London will soon have to include one (if it doesn’t come with a garden).

Isabelle Palmer’s balcony is one of those high-in-the-sky gardens that, glimpsed from the street, give you the urge to ring on the doorbell and ask if you can explore.