As usual, the sudden change to warmer weather does tend to change my daily routines quite a bit - like when is the best time to go out, vs doing various things at home (or doing nothing at all!); taking into consideration outdoors and indoor temperatures and light etc. It also affects my blogging habits, as my study gets too hot in the afternoons...
This morning I set aside for a bit of "balcony gardening"; while the balcony was still mostly in shadow. (In the mid afternoon it's now too hot to even sit there and do nothing.)
Planting and replanting etc is a messy affair when one lives in a flat - also involving the kitchen on the other side of the building (while the balcony is outside the living room). First I need to clear the kitchen sink and workbench of everything else that should not get dirty. And when it's all done, a lot of cleaning up and putting things back in their usual places...
My "gardening" today consisted of:
1. Emptying a box of old dead strawberry plants. (Not the one in the photo, but another one like it, which did not survive the winter.)
2. Cutting down my half-dead clematis from the trellis on the wall, and emptying that big pot of soil as well - but trying to save one or two green shoots at the bottom, replanting those in a smaller pot. (If I succeed to keep the plant alive, I'll keep it indoors until next spring. I've done it before, so I know it may be worth trying.)
3. Replanting my two new cherry tomato plants (recently bought) into bigger pots; and letting those make use of the trellis this summer instead.
4. From the two pots of "painted nettles" (coleus) I've taken cuttings for new plants (they usually easily grow roots if just put in a glass of water); and moved the old ones out on the balcony. When they grow this big they aren't happy on the window sills indoors anyway.
The geraniums I just keep in the small pots that I bought them in - easy to move around, or take in/ out depending on the weather. Possibly they may want bigger pots later.
9 comments:
Each year I love to watch you grow your garden. I do like the container the geranium pots are sitting in. you mange to use your gardening skills in such a small space, even things you can eat.. and it all looks so pretty and will be even prettier in a month or so
Your Coleus are beautiful! So are the pink flowers. Your balcony is really beautiful.
You have your gardening and maintenance down to a fine art! Everything looks very healthy and I hope you have a good crop of tomatoes to see you through the salad season.
You've inspired me to tackle all the pots I inherited some years ago from friends who sold up and returned to the UK. Sadly they have mostly been neglected, apart from watering, and are now hopelessy pot-bound.
It looks very nice, clean and tidy, but I know what you mean about indoor/balcony gardening‘s challenges. It is exactly that, the bags of soil, setting aside one of the usually needed work surfaces in the kitchen or elsewhere, cleaning up afterwards, that stops me from doing more. I am lazy like that, but I do love flowers and greenery and just go to enjoy them around me on my walks instead.
Thanks Sandra. I used to do more when I was younger and lived in an apartment with a balcony better suited for it... I even grew pumpkins on that balcony! :)
Thanks Ginny :)
Carol, I'm thinking my surviving strawberry plants would probably benefit from being re-planted in new soil as well... (Remains to be seen if I can inspire myself to get it done.)
Meike, I just know I enjoy the balcony more if I do have some plants there during summer - and the same with having some plants indoors on my window sills all year round. Times may well come when I'll no longer bother about things like cuttings and replanting, though (but just buy new ones if the old ones start looking depressing). "There's a time for every purpose under heaven"... ;-)
I thought they were geraniums, they are such a classic summer plant. We tried growing tomatoes over Summer but I think we put them in a bit too late, this year we will try in early Spring and see how we get on.
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