Morning Glories

What better way to start a Friday morning after a busy week? I went out on the balcony to water my plants and saw that nearly all of the morning glory buds were in bloom. The daily watering through the summer heat is finally worth it! :)

View from my screen door

Side view of the blooms hanging over the balcony railing

Closeup of a morning glory hanging out with the alyssum

Closeup of the balcony railing morning glories

Balcony Update

It is only July, and the mums are starting to bloom! 

The birds have always enjoyed dining on my balcony, especially now that I've been providing a new kind of bird seed. It contains bits of fruit and sunflower seeds which end up scattered all over the balcony and in the potted plants. Months and one new pot later, I have 2 beautiful sunflower plants about to bloom!

My dad gave me something called a Flower Rocket for my birthday. It's a rolled up material full of seeds that you plant and water every day. Soon, you end up with several types of flowers in one spot. They start out pretty small:

And then they really get going! (Note: the petunias were planted separately and are not part of the flower rocket.)

Here are a couple of the mystery flowers that have bloomed from the Flower Rocket so far:

This blue one is one of my favorites! It grows in the countryside along country roads, but I have no idea what its name is. 

Then there's this dainty little plant whose bloom is less than an inch across. 

Balcony Garden Update

Yard sale finds summer of 2014

In May, I ran across a large yard sale offering plastic outdoor tables for free (above left). I decided to give it a try since we were looking for a table for our balcony. It turns out that plastic tables on a second floor balcony aren't such a great idea during a windy thunderstorm. Plus, the table is the wrong size to really be functional on a shallow balcony.
In June, I came across another yard sale around the corner from our apartment building which had a beautiful iron baking rack shelf on display. It just happened to be the perfect, last item we needed for our balcony. It not only looks nice against the brick wall, but serves a purpose: It's a great place to store extra pots, potting soil, and the little broom I use to sweep up after the birds sprinkle the balcony with birdseed.

First Convolvulus bloom (dwarf morning glory), June 2014

Petunias blooming in June 2014, seeds planted indoors in April

First Blooms of the Season

First tomato bloom of the season
mid-June 2014

Alyssum blooms
mid-June 2014

Scented Geranium (aka Citronella)
mid-June 2014

Balcony Garden 2014