It’s a beautiful morning

A corner of my garden this sunny spring morning:

Happy weekending everyone!

Lazy Hazy Friday

I spent some time this morning before breakfast reorganizing the garden- there were lots of pots straggling around the balcony, dirt and dead leaves everywhere, and I had even found an empty window box stashed in the outside storage closet- empty of all things! There’s no empty planters in gardening now, is there? Honestly!

Ignore the paper bag- I like to fool myself into thinking it’s my compost heap!

I rather like the effect lining the edge of the railing with the window boxes has on the overall appearance out there- it’s like I’ve outlined the space with plants…

That big blue tray has got to go- and I need to find a saucer for the nasturtium nursery. Here’s a better shot of this corner-

There! Now it’s “artistic”!

I love my little balcony garden- it brings me such peace and quiet joy. I would like to find a few more plants this month, maybe some more herbs, and another rose would be nice. I’d like a trailing rose to train onto the balcony bars, but can’t decide between white or red? And I keep finding references to a “moonlight garden”, which I think would be lovely out here this summer- lots of white flowers, some that even open in the evening! We’ll see. I hope I can find room for some new things. We should do a head count- I have no idea how many plants are out there so far.

Let’s make a list!

1. Aloe
2. Lemon Verbena
3. Rosemary
4. Thyme
5. Pansy
6. (3) Stock
7. (2) Oregano
8. Pink Rose (There’s also some chamomile, or borage, I’ve forgotten which, in the base of that big pot, too.)
9. (2) Lavender
10. Sage
11. Basil
12. Lemon Balm
13. Snapdragon
14. Parsley
15. Chives
16. Spearmint
17. Catmint
18. Kitty Salad (aka wheatgrass)
19. Alyssum
20. Dianthus (aka Pinks. squee! I love the old fashioned flowers!)
21. Pink Geranium
22. Red Geranium
23. Morning Glory
24. Strawberries
25. Calendula

And even more Pansies back in the corner there. Also in that great big pot on the right are some sunflowers seeds, and a volunteer something-or-other. It could just be a weed, but I’m letting it go until it gets big enough to identify. The same thing is going on in the strawberry pot. I think they are from some Honeydew Melon seeds I threw in there around Christmastime, but I’m not sure.  Oh, and there is a volunteer spring onion in there somewhere- it came home in one of the spring cell packs, and just kept growing! I can’t wait to see if it will flower…

Hmm… I think I can squeeze in a few more plants in out there, at least the Faeries seem to think so. I know they’ve moved out there recently because Tasha’s Gnome gardener keeps getting moved to the oregano (she knows the difference guys!) and the hummers seem madder than usual, something about getting mooned last week? And I don’t think they are talking about the Full Moon either…

Geraniums

When my family moved back to California in the ‘80’s, my mom planted a small red geranium in the back yard, right on the edge of the back patio. By the time I had graduated high school, it had grown into a monster bush covering half of the patio and blocking the entire view of the yard from the patio door!. Ever since I’ve had geraniums in my various gardens, but until now I haven’t had the sun exposure they like to flourish.

Now I have a pink one- she started out quiet and small, kinda sickly honestly. Now she blooms all the time, and has the most beautiful flowers of the two that are in my garden right now.

My red geranium, from back in August. She hasn’t had very large blooms since I first brought her home last summer, but she has been plucking along, putting out blooms bravely despite the heat and the wind out there on that balcony.
So, I repotted both of them when I split my monster oregano earlier this month. I gave them both a good feeding at the time, too and make sure to give them both a good drink ever few days. The air out here is so dry, what with the drier climate, 3rd floor balcony and no shade. But they appear to like their Christmas present, late as it was, so we’ll see how they do this next month.
Most of my plants have grown so much since we moved in back in June. The tarragon didn’t make it, so I pulled that one out. Then I decided to try my hand at some lettuces, so I pulled everything out of the low round planter and gave them their own pots- the thyme is growing lush again, but the sage is spindly and refuses to raise her head. I let the Basil bolt, and am glad I did because his flowers are so pretty! I will just chop him down when it gets closer to a true spring out here, and buy another plant in the meantime- one plant didn’t give me near enough basil last summer any way, so another plant or two will supply us nicely this next year I think.
So, right now I have parsley and chives putting up their teeny little sprouts (yaay! fresh herbs are lovely), a new rosebush I got bareroot late last month that is refusing to green up- I am a little worried about it. I chose an Iceberg this time around, for a white flower, but it’s not looking good at the moment. The Faeries are camped out around her, giving her pep talks and extra love, so we’ll see how she does. My other rose, an Our lady of Guadalupe ever-blooming floribunda, is working on two rosehips at the moment- I’m so excited! She also had a sucker (? is that the right term) that I let go for a few weeks until it bloomed this last weekend that turned out to be true to her regular flower crop yaay! I hate trimming my roses, it rips my heart out to cut my plants, even the suckers (speaking of suckers, it turns out that the tomato plant from last year needed a lot more attention than I gave it- I have been reading a lot about gardening this winter and learned a lot about what I did wrong with that plant. Oh well. You live and learn, right?).
Anyway, roses and geraniums, herbs and lettuces. What else can I stuff onto my balcony this year? Ahhh. . . lots more, I’m hoping. So far, so good- I’m learning, and planting and fertilizing, pruning and harvesting- it gives me such joy and comfort to have my plants again! I’ve waited so long. Love my garden, and so does Tasha- she got a catnip plant this weekend, and is loving being about to go out and pick a leaf or two whenever she gets a craving! Kitties are good teachers, aren’t they?