The Garden Community for Garden Lovers

What a show ...

balcony

By balcony

16 comments


What a show … even if I do say so myself!

When, at the beginning of May, I decided to put in the summer bedding (& hope the weather would warm up & that I wouldn’t lose them!) little could I have imagined the weeks & weeks of extremely hot, dry, sunny weather we were in store for from mid June to the end of July 2018! (& still counting!)

My wife & I bought some packs of Petunias in town just before the Early Spring Bank Holiday, (7th May), which were part of a special Bank Holiday weekend offer – 4 packs for £3! So we got 3 packs of Petunias & a pack of Dark Begonias.

Petunias

‘Candyfloss Mix’:

‘Light Blue’:

‘Moonshine’ mixed:

‘Candyfloss’ flowering on balcony railings (From the outside) 1st June 2018:

‘Light Blue’ flowering on balcony railings (from the outside) 1st June 2018:

‘Moonshine mixed’ flowering on balcony railings (From outside) 1st June 2018

I put the pots, 2 plug plants to a pot, out on the balcony railing on the Bank Holiday Monday. As there were 6 plants in each pack & I had 9 pots I was able to group them according to their colours in groups of 3! Later on my wife decided they would look better if the colours were mixed up! So I had to break up the groupings of colours which made it more difficult to photograph them in the following months!

Petunias just potted up & put on balcony railings 7th May 2018

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Begonias sempervivens

‘Dark mixed’:

  • ‘Dark mixed’ in bedroom window 25th June 2018:*

Begonias in bedroom window from outside 26th June 2016:

I don’t have a more recent photo because, (as you can see from the last one I took), there is too much glare on the windows which makes it almost impossible to get a half decent photo!

✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾✾

Variegated Geraniums:

As I had a lot of Geraniums that I’d overwintered I thought I could put them to good use by putting them in the new troughs I had bought, to take the place of the old ones which were falling to pieces.

‘Vancouver Centennial’ just planted out in new trough on balcony table 18th April:

Green & white just finished planting up in new trough on balcony table 18th April 2018

‘Black Prince’ just planted up in new trough on balcony table 18th April 2018:

I put the same variety of Variegated Geranium in each of the troughs & then repeated the same ones in the long white troughs below them on the balcony floor.

Green & white in troughs on balcony railings & floor 6th June 2018:

‘Vancouver Centennial’ in troughs on balcony railings & floor 6th June 2018:

‘Black Prince’ in troughs on balcony railings & floor 6th June 2018:

Green & white on balcony railings seen from outside 16th July 2018:

‘Vancouver Centennial’ on balcony railings seen from outside 16th July 2018:

‘Black Knight’ on balcony railings seen from outside 16th July 2018:

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

If you’ve reached this far down then I think you deserve to see what the title of this blog is all about!

So, if you are ready?

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Then let’s lift the curtain & not have any more suspense!

Balcony as seen from the outside

Left 16th July 2018:

Centre 16th July 2018:

Right 16th July 2018:

As seen from the street on 16th July 2018:

As seen from the street on 22nd July 2018:

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

What you can’t see from the above photos are the many tomato plants growing on the balcony!

Would you like to see the balcony from the inside? Yes, I’m sure you would! So I’ll close this blog with a few photos of the interior:

Tomato plants:

Tomatoes ‘Red Robin’ in hanging basket:

Strawberry ‘Toscana’ flowering in hanging basket:

Strawberries ‘Delizz’ in hanging basket:

Petunias on balcony railings:

Hope I haven’t bored you with this show!

But … the show must go on!

So another time I’ll do another blog on our balcony – with a different perspective!

See you, folks!
.

More blog posts by balcony

Previous post: Flower Mod

Next post: When the Red, Red Robin ...



Comments

 

Wow it certainly is a fabulous show !, Must have taken a lot of looking after in the heat we've had and unlike mine not a crinkley brown leaf in sight , gorgeous !

27 Jul, 2018

 

You can be justifiably proud of that lot! What difference it makes to the row of flats - you would be sorely missed if you moved house! Absolutely love Geranium Black Knight - when you take cuttings can I be cheeky and beg one?
Must show you a pic of my Red Robins when I get round to it - they are doing very well and i think about you every time I see them!

27 Jul, 2018

 

What a great show. I can see that it would also work for disabled people who need easy access.

27 Jul, 2018

 

What a flower show. Really impressive.

27 Jul, 2018

 

Thank you all for your lovely comments! 👍😄

Simbad, if you can't see a crinkly leaf anywhere it's because they were burnt off or are hidden beneath the foliage & flowers (in the case of the Geraniums!). Fortunately the Petunias don't seem to have minded the very strong sunshine & the high temps for day after day & week after week! They get the sun from about 11am till it goes down in the evening which is a lot of hours putting up with it!

On at least 2 occasions my Petunias got so dry that I thought I had lost them! I have had to water them twice a day for weeks on end as all, except one, are in terracotta pots so dry out very quickly.

The 3 plants my son bought me for my birthday back in May this year have practically died on me! 😭😭😭 The lovely yellow Fuchsia that I put in the white trough on the balcony floor directly in front of the balcony door has dropped all its leaves & I'm not sure if it will come through. Even the cutting I took of it shortly after I got it died without ever rooting! 😭

The Variegated Mock Orange has had all its leaves burnt off as well. There were a few shoots that appeared after I cut the dead branches back to almost soil level but I saw they were beginning to look scorched so I put a sheet of white paper around the plant to give it some protection from the strong sun. They seemed to be resisting for a time but they are still looking very bad & may not make it through to the autumn.

The Potentilla is still hanging on but a great many of its leaves have fallen off & some branches are now bare. It's supposed to need full sun & be able to resist being dry but mine doesn't seem to like either condition! 😭

Stera, of course you can have a cutting! It grows very quickly form a cutting which roots in a couple of weeks with no special care! In fact the 3 Geraniums I mention all do the same! All the plants are grown from my cuttings! I haven't bought a single Geranium in many years - in fact the other two variegated ones came from a supermarket in town some years ago. I bought them on the spur of the moment - something I very rarely do! I put a couple of cutting in an envelope for you.

BTW, the original cutting came from David, in Scotland. Like you I commented how nice they looked in a photo he posted & then he said he would send me a cutting! When it arrived I sent him an Amaryllis bulb. He said he had never grown them before.

I'm glad to hear your 'Red Robin' tomatoes are doing well for you! My plants have lots of fruit & they haven't needed any more attention other than watering & feeding & removing an occasional dead leaf or two. I have noticed this week that a few tomatoes are now starting to ripen! I'm looking forward to tasting the first ones!

27 Jul, 2018

 

Hope you've had some rain at last Balcony we have ! I love the sun but it's been to much ,I can almost see the grass greening up before my eyes!

27 Jul, 2018

 

Your displays are stunning.

28 Jul, 2018

 

Oh my, what a wonderful display! You must be so proud of it ... :o)

28 Jul, 2018

 

You've got the most colourful balcony in the world lol :) Well done ! It's surprising what can be done in such a small space.

29 Jul, 2018

 

Thank you, Sinbad. I'm afraid we only had a relatively little on Saturday & much less than forecast for Sunday. :( So the drought here won't be ending any time soon! :(

Thank you so much 3d & I'm glad you like my display! :)

Shirley, yes I'm proud of it & very pleased at the way the Petunias have flowered so magnificently as well as the Geraniums that have flowered better this year than for many.

Thanks so much, Hywel, but I seriously doubt it's the most colourful balcony in the world - just in Huntingdon! LOL! :D

29 Jul, 2018

 

Re the Red Robin - I was saying the other day there ahd been no slugs this year. Haha. After the rain I found a huge one munching its way through one of the tomatoes.
I seem to have lost your address - I'll send you cutting in return if you tell me again. (When there are any - they've been at rather a standstill lately)

29 Jul, 2018

 

Great work done there, Balcony. Flowers looking very colourful ! Added to GoYpedia.

30 Jul, 2018

 

wow that is amazing. well done and a lot of watering to do every day.

did the morning glory seeds germinate? mine did eventually and I have some lovely flowers now.

2 Aug, 2018

 

Stera, our two gkids spent the day with us on Tuesday & they got to pick all the tomatoes & strawberries that were ripe! There weren't very many but in the last couple of days many more have ripened so they can pick some more when they come again on Saturday!

I'll put some cuttings in an envelope for you & send them soon. You were very lucky because the day after you asked we had some very strong gusts of wind & they broke a branch of the 'Black Prince' Geranium so I've divided it up into cuttings.

Thanks, TT! Glad you like our balcony! Thanks for adding it to Goypedia!

You are quite right, SB, it is a lot of watering! During the hottest weather twice a day! The tomatoes in growbags especially need a lot of water!

As for the Morning Glory seeds you sent me, yes, they grew & are flowering now together with some my son brought me back from Spain. I'd also bought a packet of 'Heavenly Blue' seeds months before you send me any seeds & before my son brought me some. The most curious thing I've found this year is that the majority of the plants that have been flowering for the last month have mostly been white with some purplish markings at the outside edge! The are a few purple ones in flower as well but the 'Heavenly Blue' ones show no sign of flowering even now that some of the plants have reached 2m high! Also they are completely different form the others! They are a lighter green & almost hairless! I've grown them before but they have always flowered well so I don't understand what's the matter with them this year!

2 Aug, 2018

 

What a show indeed, fantastic, lucky neighbours, your Pelargoniums have done so much better than ours, which hated the tremendous heat. ......never had a problem with them before, have been growing them for over 30 years! so well done you!!

28 Aug, 2018

 

Sorry for not replying to your comments earlier but I have been rather occupied of late & there have even been a couple of days during the last couple of weeks when I haven't even been able to turn the computer on!

Stera, I hope the slugs didn't get many of your 'Red Robin' tomatoes! I'm still picking mine! I eat them like sweets! 😂

I have a couple of cutting rooted for you & I will try & post them to you tomorrow.

Thanks very much TT for adding this blog to GoYpedia!

SB, the 'Morning Glory' have been a real show & are in full bloom right now. Thanks to the cooler weather of late the flowers are lasting longer & resist most of the day whereas during the hot spell they only lasted till about midday!

I mentioned that the MG 'Heavenly Blue' hadn't flowered yet - well it has begun to at long last! The 1st flower opened on 31st August only it was so high up I couldn't get a decent photo & in fact I didn't even recognize it as this until a couple of days later when 2 more flowers opened much lower down. There are plenty of buds& during this month they will soon be opening.

DD, sorry to hear about your Geraniums not liking the summer heat, it seems strange as after all they come from S. Africa, where the climate is hot & dry. Perhaps you will have better luck with them next year.

4 Sep, 2018

Add a comment

Featured on

Recent posts by balcony

Members who like this blog

  • Gardening with friends since
    3 Sep, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    9 Aug, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    29 Oct, 2013

  • Gardening with friends since
    7 Aug, 2007

  • Gardening with friends since
    20 Jan, 2014

  • Gardening with friends since
    5 May, 2010

  • Gardening with friends since
    2 Nov, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    14 Aug, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    27 Sep, 2008

Garden centre