The last gasp!

The clematis opens amidst the remnants of nasturtiums and some portulacas. Glad I didn't toss this clematis. After the scale last year and its poor showing in July, I was considering it. But it has earned itself another year on the balcony.

Free Window Box

This one didn't cost me a thing. The creeping jenny is a perennial and the portulacas were pieces plucked off from four plants I purchased earlier this summer. Okay, so I spent $2.00 on four portulacas and these were derived from those. I also broke off pieces from those original four plants and now have portulacas in multiple other pots and window boxes. Portulacas provide a huge bang for your buck!

Long view

Nothing to say, just keeping a visual diary of August! A useful journal for planning future plantings. Sad about Robin Williams.

window box again

So the cool days of last week led to a reblooming of the pinks! Window boxes even better than before!

Monhegan Island

One of the most magical places on earth!

Greenwich Village

On a lovely walk with my son I spotted this West Village townhouse. Some day when my son is a very famous movie editor he is going to buy it for me! Actually what made me fall in love with it was the little tree in front, but by the time he can buy it for me, the tree might be too big and I will have to pick another one!

Getting so much better all the time!!!

This year, unlike last year, every day that goes by leaves me more pleased with my window boxes...last year I got more bored with each day. Monochromatic and dull. This year, clashing and fun and changing all the time.

 

nasturtiums and portulacas

 



 

 

I just wish my iphone could pick up the wonderful pink of the portulaca. It is so much warmer and lovely than the icy color that appears in the photo.

Starting to shape up

One thing about doing window boxes with seeds and perennials...you have to be patient! Finally after months of waiting the window boxes are  filling out. I am so proud!!! I only spent 60 dollars total this year on the terrace, the plants in front of our door and the begonias down below. It is not as spectacular as in the past, but in some ways I am prouder.

 

 

 

Park Slope Window Box

There was a whole row - five or six - of these lovely window boxes planted in front of a Park Slope restaurant...Subtle colors / big impact.

Williamsburg

Found this on my way to my client in Williamsburg today. Love the ivy growing over the graffiti/mural

!

 

 

Little Bay Ridge Dream House

Here is my little dream house that I found when Bob and I were out on a walk in the hood.

It's pale yellow and the garden is exploding with blossoms. It is cheap by New York standards, but not by ours. Its for sale! Oh, and it was built in 1925.

Pretty in pink

This pretty barrel of flowers was sitting outside a restaurant in Carroll Gardens, looking very feminine! I would love to see it in a month, spilling over the sides. Will keep an eye out for it.

I love June.

Unfurling!

 



Basil and mint...the trick is not eating the plants down to a nub before they have a chance to produce a bountiful supply!

Hello Old Friend

      Ernest Markham

A combination of a hard winter and wicked brown scale infestation last summer took down two of my clematis, but this stalwart survivor stuck around. The conditions on the balcony are rugged - humid, windy, and hot hot hot as the summer deepens. So I am very impressed by this rugged little vine.

you gotta love thunbergia

Happy and easy little vine - what's not to love?

 

Flatbush

Was walking along East 21st street today...absolutely lovely explosion of spring flowers in front of spectacular Victorian single family homes...what a schizoid place Brooklyn is!

Happy Accident

I didn't know what color these portulacas were when I planted them. I chose the little flat for other vibrant ones that were blooming - bright orange, flaming raspberry, hot pink. So when these started to appear I though uh oh, I would never have picked this bunch if I knew what these would be. But as they opened I grew to love them. They are a delicate peach with a ring of pink markings on the inside and look great with the bacopa and creeping phlox. From now on, I will search for them, when buying portulacas!

Carroll Gardens

On my way to work today I passed this stoop. What won't be obvious in the photo is the spectacular clematis blooming along the right hand side of the stoop or the fact that the arch above the door is partly roses, which I hope I get to see in full bloom next month.

The Calm After the Storm

After several days of fog and rain (actually I loved them and felt like I was living in some combination of New England and London) today is clear and lovely and the flowers are happy....

Baby Nasturtiums

Baby nasturtiums with broken off bits of portulacas, some creeping jenny and the purple is bacopa.

 

Thunbergia, million bells and pinks with the ubiquitous creeping jenny!

Getting there

Things are starting to unfold. I am so happy I decided to keep the perennials in the window boxes!

 

 

OUT OF HIBERNATION

Hello there! I have been hibernating all winter but now plan to return to blogging about my little balcony. What a lovely day - started out with fog horns and warm salty southern Spring smells. Now the sun has broken through and I have been puttering around outside. I am trying to keep the spending down and primarily use perennials even in the window boxes. So here is what has returned.

 

Creeping phlox, Violets, Creeping Jenny

 

 

 

Pinks (about to pop - pics to follow) Creeping Jenny, Coral Bells

 

Some annuals have been mixed in here -Portulacas, Pansies (and Nasturtiums, which are still underground!)

 

Can't wait to see this develop - perennials and seeds require patience, but they make you feel so triumphant when they arrive.

 

 

 

There is a lot that came back and a lot that the hard winter stole away. One clematis out of three survived, the rose is gone, but the strawberries are here for their third summer! More to follow.