8 hours never seemed like such a long time (unless I was at work)
So it's just past midnight and my vacation ends in a little less than 24 hours. For the last 10 days my days and nights have flipped back around completely to take advantage of the great weather. Even when it was grey and raining it was warm. And most days had at least some sunshine in it. I did manage to sleep until noon today...er, yesterday, and I took nearly a 2 hour nap late in the afternoon. So I saved my balcony garden post for tonight. I have Aliens playing which, even though I've probably seen it 50 times generally will keep me awake playing in the background. Plus I'm fixing my meals for the coming work week.
So, my lovely balcony that brings me such joy!
So my idea for my new balcony began with COLOR! I chose an indoor/outdoor rug. It's made of straws spun from recycled plastic. It's reversible (but the colors more muted on the opposite side) and comes with a nice little burlap tube with a long carry strap for storage or taking it along on an outing.
I repainted my blah, boring forest green Adirondack chair a rich plum to match the thread of violet in the rug. I originally chose a rug that had Caribbean blue and lime green and was going to add a dark lavender and then I realized I'd look like I was sitting in a huge, freaking Easter basket, so I decided to go for a bolder look. I'm really glad I did. My little putty colored folding table became a bright orange and the cheap, dingy, dirty white plastic shelves became a warm yellow along with the little fence I attach to the railing to protect the bird feeder from my little birder.
This is what it looked like for a couple of weeks before I got my pots planted.
Unfortunately the chair is too big to leave out all the time. It sits right inside the balcony door. My puffy orange comforter is folded on it and it makes a perfect Phouka nest.
In the past I've settled for just a couple of hanging containers of flowers and didn't bother with them anywhere else, but that wouldn't suit my need for color. So I dug up my long window boxes which originally hung on the outside of my railing. After a couple of years I had to forget about hanging them out because the weight was pulling the old railing (old being the operative word) loose. But they rebuilt the balcony 3 years ago and I put a line of 3" deck screws along the top of the railing to reinforce the nails they built it with. Then I hung 5 boxes on the outside. I planted 2 of them with a flat of dark pink and creamy white/yellow miniature snap dragons for immediate gratification and the other with seeds of lavender alyssum, African daisies and California poppies, all of which have sprouted up nicely.
I also have 3 hanging baskets of orange and purple petunias.
There are 3 big pots with bamboo stakes that I was originally going to plant Scarlet Runner Beans in for a beautiful wall of hummingbird friendly red flowers and tasty green beans but (unlike every other year when I didn't want them) I couldn't find the seeds anywhere not on line and by then it was too late. So I found a climbing mix of Scarlet Runner beans, morning glories, nasturtiums and black eyed Susans. In the front of the pots are some pretty impatiens.
On my 6' long bench are 2 tomatoes (an Early Girl and a Black Prince), 2 pepper (a Baker's New Mexico red chili - moderately hot, and a sweet Shishito pepper) and a tub with 3 cucumber plants (2 climbing and 1 bush).
Then there are small pots of herbs, a pot of multicolored coleus for the shady overhang and a gorgeous viola with dusky lavender and gold flowers instead of the usual bright purple and yellow.
I also bought some Moroccan lanterns which I adore and hung just outside my sliding glass door so I can enjoy them from inside, too.
I get such a kick out of noodling around on my balcony, listening to and watching the hummingbirds which arrived back a couple of weeks ago and puttering around my plants. And I adore just looking out at all the colors even on a rainy day when the colors seem to glow.
I just have a few more odds and ends I want to do. Like making/finding some more windchimes. My old ones bit the dust and I miss the sounds.
So there you go. I still have to get one more bag of potting soil to re-pot some house plants and make a 'grass box' for Phouka. I also have another, longer window box that I think I'll plant with some bush beans since I was denied my Scarlet Runner beans and they only need about 5" of depth.
I'm sure I'll think of other ways to tweak things but I pretty much need to start concentrating on my living room make-over.
OK, only 7 hours to go. Time to do some cooking!
So, my lovely balcony that brings me such joy!
So my idea for my new balcony began with COLOR! I chose an indoor/outdoor rug. It's made of straws spun from recycled plastic. It's reversible (but the colors more muted on the opposite side) and comes with a nice little burlap tube with a long carry strap for storage or taking it along on an outing.
I repainted my blah, boring forest green Adirondack chair a rich plum to match the thread of violet in the rug. I originally chose a rug that had Caribbean blue and lime green and was going to add a dark lavender and then I realized I'd look like I was sitting in a huge, freaking Easter basket, so I decided to go for a bolder look. I'm really glad I did. My little putty colored folding table became a bright orange and the cheap, dingy, dirty white plastic shelves became a warm yellow along with the little fence I attach to the railing to protect the bird feeder from my little birder.
This is what it looked like for a couple of weeks before I got my pots planted.
Unfortunately the chair is too big to leave out all the time. It sits right inside the balcony door. My puffy orange comforter is folded on it and it makes a perfect Phouka nest.
In the past I've settled for just a couple of hanging containers of flowers and didn't bother with them anywhere else, but that wouldn't suit my need for color. So I dug up my long window boxes which originally hung on the outside of my railing. After a couple of years I had to forget about hanging them out because the weight was pulling the old railing (old being the operative word) loose. But they rebuilt the balcony 3 years ago and I put a line of 3" deck screws along the top of the railing to reinforce the nails they built it with. Then I hung 5 boxes on the outside. I planted 2 of them with a flat of dark pink and creamy white/yellow miniature snap dragons for immediate gratification and the other with seeds of lavender alyssum, African daisies and California poppies, all of which have sprouted up nicely.
I also have 3 hanging baskets of orange and purple petunias.
There are 3 big pots with bamboo stakes that I was originally going to plant Scarlet Runner Beans in for a beautiful wall of hummingbird friendly red flowers and tasty green beans but (unlike every other year when I didn't want them) I couldn't find the seeds anywhere not on line and by then it was too late. So I found a climbing mix of Scarlet Runner beans, morning glories, nasturtiums and black eyed Susans. In the front of the pots are some pretty impatiens.
On my 6' long bench are 2 tomatoes (an Early Girl and a Black Prince), 2 pepper (a Baker's New Mexico red chili - moderately hot, and a sweet Shishito pepper) and a tub with 3 cucumber plants (2 climbing and 1 bush).
Then there are small pots of herbs, a pot of multicolored coleus for the shady overhang and a gorgeous viola with dusky lavender and gold flowers instead of the usual bright purple and yellow.
I also bought some Moroccan lanterns which I adore and hung just outside my sliding glass door so I can enjoy them from inside, too.
I get such a kick out of noodling around on my balcony, listening to and watching the hummingbirds which arrived back a couple of weeks ago and puttering around my plants. And I adore just looking out at all the colors even on a rainy day when the colors seem to glow.
I just have a few more odds and ends I want to do. Like making/finding some more windchimes. My old ones bit the dust and I miss the sounds.
So there you go. I still have to get one more bag of potting soil to re-pot some house plants and make a 'grass box' for Phouka. I also have another, longer window box that I think I'll plant with some bush beans since I was denied my Scarlet Runner beans and they only need about 5" of depth.
I'm sure I'll think of other ways to tweak things but I pretty much need to start concentrating on my living room make-over.
OK, only 7 hours to go. Time to do some cooking!