Spring Preparations

 

Yesterday: Crocuses in a flowerbed in my neighbourhood.

Today I decided to put what energy I had into getting started to "make spring" on my balcony. So I got the plastic rug, my chair, and  the trellis with fake leaves (bought last year) up from the basement storage room. With pauses in between, I also got them in place during the day. (Fingers crossed that April has no plans to throw another storm at us!) 

No live flowers for a while yet, as frosty nights are still likely to happen. I also plan to keep it simple - not too much messing about with "growing things"... But I'll buy some geraniums later on, they're easy to move around depending on the weather, or even take in if needed.
 

Resting

 

A rain-free day today, but very grey - until the clouds began breaking up in the afternoon...

 I've been having a lazy/sleepy day, and have not been out at all, except for a little while on my own balcony - taking down my trellis ('privacy screen') with the fake leaves (which is not recommended to leave outdoors through winter).  It's lightweight and was just fastened to the railing with pieces of gardening wire; so not even a 10 minutes job, in dry weather. (All live plants out there already taken in and/or got rid of.) 

Photo from June 2024, when I bought it

I also haven't really been "doing" anything indoors today; except heating some soup for lunch, washing up a few things, and reading some blogs on my tablet. (Just now sitting at the computer for a little while, putting together this post, though.)

If anyone is wondering what else I do for entertainment when just resting, half-sleeping and doing "nothing", Audible sent me a reminder the other day. I'm pretty sure what Déja Vu book(s) they are referring to with the "at least 20 times". Do you know me well enough to dare a guess?? And do you have favourites of your own that you keep returning to? (audible or text)

Ascension Day

 Ascension Day, (celebrating the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, 40 days after Easter) is still a public holiday here in Sweden, even if many people now probably only have a vague idea of its origin, and just welcome it as a "day off", or even a long weekend (those who can often take Friday off as well). 

Traditionally, Ascension Day was often celebrated here with an early morning church service and picknick outdoors. I have to confess it's been a long time now since I myself (not an "early morning person") partook in any such event; but I remember some such occasions from back in my youth. (Back in 2021, I posted some photos from 1975 + one of my grandfather's from 1924).

Today may also have been a rather good day for people feeling up for a morning outing, as it has been sunny and not too cold. (Rather windy, though!) 

For my own part, I had a lazy morning, though - with just a little bit of "potting" on my balcony before lunch:

I re-potted two rubber plants (Ficus elastica) that have grown too big for the window sills indoors, and put those out on the balcony; where I think they go rather well with the fake green leaves on the "privacy screen". That corner of the balcony is also farily well protected from strong winds. (I still have one more Ficus plant indoors, and they're easy to take cuttings from.) 

In the afternoon, I went out for my usual walk around the cemetery, checking up on the azaleas and rhododendrons and whatnot. I also saw one of the hares, and managed to snap two photos (one zoomed in). The other day I saw two of them, so there is at least a pair of them still living there.

Lots and lots of elm tree seeds on the ground and whirling about in the wind today -  like snowflakes in the air, and making a rattling sound on the ground, almost like dry leaves do in autumn.

Yellow azaleas beginning to "droop"... But on the whole, they're still offer a blast of colour:

Watching Things Grow

 

Friday was a nice summery day (no rain, and not too hot either), and in the afternoon I went to check on a park down by the river where I know they're making some changes. So far it seems they've pretty much just planted a couple of new young trees + are changing the route of the paths to create a larger "free" lawn in the middle. If for any special purpose, I'm not sure... Maybe it will become clearer with time!

No new flowerbeds so far, but there are some wildflowers here and there on the slopes. (I know since a number of years back now they are letting "weeds" grow on purpose in certain areas around town - instead of cutting the grass - for the sake of bees and other insects.)

At home I was able to sit for a while on my balcony, under my parasols, and facing my "green corner". I'm quite pleased so far with that 'screen' (with the false leaves) that I bought.

 

Watching my cherry tomatoes grow...

And wondering why these two coleus plants (both of the same origin) have made different choices when it comes to small vs big leaves...

Privacy

 

This is the 'privacy screen' thingy that I carried back home with me earlier in the week (on the bus + walking). (Cf my Monday post.) An adjustable trellis made of willow, covered in fake leaves. It's not heavy - just not a really comfortable size to be carrying around for too long.

It was not until I freed it from its plastic cover yesterday, and quite a few fake leaves immediately fell off, that I began to question the truth of the label declaring the contraption to be "eco-friendly and sustainable"... (The trellis itself, absolutely. The fake leaves, maybe not so much...) Luckily I unpacked it indoors rather than outdoors.

As it's lightweight, it wasn't too hard to fasten it onto the balcony railing simply using gardening wire. I put it up yesterday - and as far as I can tell today, it still has most of its leaves in place, in spite of rather windy weather.

Visually, I quite like it; and above all, it serves its purpose.  I can partially see through it, but my "next balcony neighbours" and I no longer have to stare one another right in the face if we happen to be out on our balconies at the same time. (On the other side, there is a permanent frosted plexiglass screen between me and the balcony directly adjoining mine. So while we hear each other all too well, at least we don't see each other.) 

I've seen other balconies in the neighbourhood using the same kind of trellis screen that I bought now, so that's what inspired me to get one like that too. It seemed an easier option  to handle than something more solid that would probably need professional assistance to be mounted in a safe way. (I'll be taking this one down over winter.)

These are my cherry tomato plants. They have grown quite a bit and are now also beginning to bloom, although that may be hard to see in this photo.

 

Balcony Gardening

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.

 

Summer Starts Here

We've suddenly taken a jump from spring to "early summer", which inspired me to get my old plastic carpets up from winter storage in the basement, to once again be laid out on the floor of my balcony. That is a slightly bigger job than it might seem, as they can't just be laid out there, or the first gust of wind would soon turn them into flying carpets. So they have to be fastened in various ways to prevent that from happening. I have come up with a solution involving clothes-pins tied to the railing, plus my green bench parked on top of the inner one, plus a few pieces of duct tape... Every year I wonder how many more times I'll find it all worth while (the acrobatics involved not getting easier with age!) - but the thing is, the balcony floor is metallic, and when the summer sun gets hot, so does the floor (plus it reflects glaring light as well). But with the plastic carpets on top (old ones that my mum used to have in her kitchen), I can walk out there barefoot in summer if I like, and it also reduces both the glare and noises from moving my chair about etc.

I got two new parasols last year, and I have three "holders" for them on the railing that I can shift them between as the sun moves across the sky. (The balcony faces south-west.) I can only use the parasols when there is very little wind though, or else they turn inside out, or might even do a Mary Poppins and fly away...

Most of the time it's really either too hot, too cold or too windy, or too noisy to sit out there much. (18 balconies on the same side of the house, and a frequently used lawn beneath...) However, today I was able to sit there for a little while in the late afternoon and enjoy the "fruits of my labour" - listening to music in my wireless earphones. I decided to sign up for a cheap summer offer from Spotify again (three months for the cost of one), just for the convenience of it this time of year...

Goodbye August, Hello September

Decorations on the old chest in my living room
were changed to 'autumn colours' last weekend.

The last week of August seems to have "swooshed" by. For one thing, I woke up on Tuesday morning finding myself 68 years old, while when I went to bed the night before I was still 67. Really quite enough to make one a bit confused about the Passing of Time... ;-) 

I did not "celebrate" as in having a party; but  various greetings kept dropping in anyway - by mail, email and Facebook etc, + four long(ish) phone calls spread over the day. 

In between, in the early afternoon, I also went for a walk into town for a couple of minor errands + had an ice cream in the park. It was a "nice enough" day, although not quite as sunny as in the photos below ...

 

... which were taken a week earlier, when I was in town for a haircut.

Decided (in cooperation with my hairdresser) to have an attempt at a fringe (bangs) again. Not all that much hair to play with these days, though, so we'll see how it goes! 

The day before my birthday, I tidied up a bit on my balcony, after all the rain lately.

My strawberry plants have kept producing some berries in spite of all the rain during July and August. And even the single cherry tomato plant has given me a dozen or so fruits.

Photo from mid August

 

Balcony

Back in June, it was too hot to spend much time on my balcony (facing south-west). Nearly all July, on the other hand, it's been too wet/windy/chilly... So basically all I use it for is to go out for a few minutes now and then to check on my plants. I have some flowering ones in individual pots to be able to move them around, and those can also be hung on the railing. They're too exposed to wind and rain on the railing, though, so they've remained sitting on the bench against the wall all July (and most of June too, but then because of the extreme heat and drought!). So they still need some manual watering. They seem happy with that arrangement, though.

 

In the blue pot is a cherry tomato plant. One has to look close to see the fruits as they're not ripe yet, but there are a few hiding among the leaves. They usually need watering too, because they're fairly protected from the rain in that position.

The strawberry plants would no doubt prefer a bit more sun for the berries to ripen properly; but otherwise they're very hardy, and having one box of those on each side of the balcony kind of gives it a green "frame" for myself (looking out from my window) even when I have nothing on the front railing.

In the strawberry box on the other side of the balcony I have a solar light that comes on the evenings. (Looks nice when looking out at it from inside, too...)

Looking up at the sky, one evening in early July.

Alien Invasion

 This week started with what looked like an invasion from Outer Space...

 

We had been forwarned, though: The outside of our balconies (on the whole estate) were to be cleaned by pressure washing, starting this week and 2-3 weeks onward. So we were told to remove or cover objects on our balconies that could get in the way or be damaged by that. 

 

No exact date for each building was given, though, so not all easy to know when to start preparing. But already last weekend did I remove the extra wind break sheet that I put up on the railing back in April, + covered my wooden bench with a plastic tablecloth.

 

On Monday afternoon I noticed the UFO (skylift)  had already landed on the lawn beneath my balcony; so then I also hurried to move my boxes of strawberry plants from the railing to the bench against the wall... hoping that would suffice... 

 

On Tuesday morning when I got up I found they had already got started - although it was another fine day, it looked like a rainstorm was going on outside my living room... "At the last minute" I managed to stick out a hand through the door and take in my tomato plant - which I had also put on top of the bench, but had "second thoughts" about when I realised how much water was actually being splashed about... 

I remained a bit nervous about my other plants and things while it was going on, but it all went well. The strawberry plants took it well and my clematis plant on the trellis on the wall also survived the attack (though it lost the last of its fading flowers).

 

On Wednesday the Alien and his Machine had moved on to the next building and that's when I took the photos of him working (zooming in from my kitchen window).

 

I've now put things back in order on my own balcony, and I have also been to the supermarket to buy a few more summer flowers. (And with my grocery delivery last week, I also ordered a bag of potting soil so that I can do some replanting when needed.)

 

The orange one is a "million bells" (small petunia), the white one a regular petunia, and the pink ones are pelargoniums (geraniums). I prefer to have flowers in separate pots rather than in a box because of the unreliable weather conditions on my balcony - the threat of pressure washing may be over, but I know from experience that Mother Nature has forces of her own that makes it better to be able to move plants around... (Whether because of rain, wind or too much heat and sun.)

Balcony Time

 

The sunny weather continues to inspire "spring things", and today I once again took the bus "across town" to buy something I knew I'd be able to buy there, but not in the city centre. The photo is from close to where I got off the bus, and you can see a glimpse of the shopping mall I was aiming for through the trees on the left. (Some trees are almost turning green now... won't be long!)

I had done my online research beforehand, so it didn't take me long to find what I was looking for - in one of those stores that tend to sell just about anything except food, clothes and hi-tech stuff. What I was after this time was a new wind/privacy protectetion sheet (or whatever you call it) for my balcony, as my old one came out torn from its last turn in the washing machine back in the autumn (having served me through several summers by then). The new one is the exact same model, size and colour though. (Which I considered a good thing as then I knew it would fit!) Having bought that, I also had time to pop into the nearby (food) supermarket and buy some bananas and grapes, before I caught the next bus back. (Some walking included in the trip as well though, as I have a 15 min walk from home to the bus stop from where I take that bus - and the same on the way back.)

Put up the screen when I got back home, the way I'm used to having it. It reduces the open part of my balcony railing in corner where I usually sit, but leaves a narrow peep-hole at the other end. 

I also actually sat there for a while after lunch (shadowed by the parasol, which is also new - bought last summer, but not used until now) - listening to music from Spotify. Someone might remember me "discovering" this app when I bought my new phone about a month ago... Then amazed that it seemed to be ad-free, which was not my impression from before (years ago). Well - that of course turned out to be just for the first two weeks, and then it changed to the free version with ads... However, today they offered me a free premium trial of three months... No ads + also being able to download and listen offline. I decided to accept that, as spring/summer is likely to be a period when I'll find that useful. (Like when sitting on the balcony, or elsewhere outdoors, and wanting to shut other sounds out.) (Of course I realise that they hope three months free trial will get me so addicted that I'll then want to continue and be willing to pay for it... Ah well. I'll decide about that when I get there!)

Survivors

 

 
Looks like we're in for a sunny week, so I decided to spend some time today on getting my balcony prepared for the summer season. This involves liberating my hibernating plants from their winter covers, sweeping the floor, and bringing things like plastic floor mats, chair and parasols up from the basement storage room. My two boxes of strawberry plants had spent the winter under a bench next to the wall, in turn covered by a tarpaulin; and the clematis on the trellis was covered with a protective fiber cloth. They all show signs of having survived (once again); and hopefully the spring sun combined with watering will revive them further... :)

Autumn Surprise

 

These plants (coleus / 'painted nettle') have been spending the summer out on my balcony. Recently they surprised me by sprouting blooms. I didn't even know they could! I can't recall that the ones I've had indoors have ever done that. Not sure if that's because indoors I don't let them get that tall, or because they don't get as much light there. I've never tried them outdoors until this year. But they're very easy to take cuttings from, and  I had more of them than I wanted indoors back in the spring.

(The green plant on the right is a geranium - which I expected would bloom if I put it out, but it did not!)

Spring Turning to Early Summer

 It's been a mixed week of this and that, but Nature keeps getting greener, as we're passing from spring to early summer now.

The red tree is a kind of maple, I think

▲From the old cemetery, where I walk most days.▼

Narcissus flowerbed

The cherry blossom trees in the big park downtown are of a later kind than some in other parks around town, but they too are beginning to fade away now (Tuesday).

Colourful flowerbeds along the river in the town centre

People enjoying the green lawns and the flowers in the park

▲Azaleas in the cemetery about to bloom▼

Some kinds of rhododendron in sunny places already in their prime

 

 

 

They're still at work on the roof of the building where I live, and we're still surrounded by scaffolding and not really able to use our balconies much. But this week I saw they had strawberry and tomato plants at my supermarket, and I decided to buy some, because if I wait, maybe I can't get any (or at least not at walking distance from home). 

 

The strawberries at the back in the photo are my old ones, which have survived several winters under the bench on my balcony. I replanted them in new earth a year or two ago and they still seem content with that. But I decided to go for more strawberries (I knew I had an identical empty window box in my storage room), precisely because they have proved themselves to accept the strange and varied climate on my balcony (hot and sunny vs chilly, went and windy, and freezing cold in winter). I'll hang them on the balcony rail later; for now I've put both boxes close to wall, out of the way for workers who might occasionally have to access the balconies as well (they're also exchanging drainpipes). I also bought one cherry tomato plant. That needs a more protected place than the strawberries but I had room for one pot next to my clematis (my other winter hibernator).

Clematis, photo from last month