Thursday, July 30, 2009

Pelargoniums and Sweet Peas

I've been a bit busy these last couple of days. No, not too busy to water my darlings this time, but too busy to update the blog with the photos I took two days ago.

Good news though, the Sweet Peas/luktärtor and the Runner Beans/Rosenbönor have started to flower now and my balcony is starting too look more fun from the outside now as well. And even more important the Sweet Peas smells heavenly. No photos of the Runner Beans though since they turned out too blurry.



Sweet Pea/Luktärt



Sweet Pea/Luktärt



Sweet Pea/Luktärt



Radish flowers. They've got pretty flowers but next
year I think I'll focus on their roots instead. LOL



The outside (the orange nasturtiums/krasse in the background
belong to my neighbor though) See the hanging radish flower?



What's this??? RED Runner Bean buds???
They're supposed to be WHITE!


All the others are white but one plant seems to get red buds. I know the seeds originate from white beans (I grew them myself last summer and the actual beans are white as well, not just the flowers) but it must have reverted back to the original color somehow.



The last little strawberry



Unknown red Pelargonium



Another unknown red Pelargonium



This one seems to be red as well, not pink or white as I suspected



And this one is VERY red, but still very beautiful. I got it for my birthday



"Älvdalen"



"Mårbacka"



Petunia


Mjaaaauuuuuuuuu!!! Come back iiiiiiiiiiiin!!!



Cute, isn't she?

Monday, July 27, 2009

Drought!

My poor, poor balcony plants! I've been away for a day and they where REALLY thirsty today. *guilty feelings* It took 20 liters (about 5.3 gallons) to satisfy their thirst (compared to 5-10 liters otherwise, depending on the weather) They looked a lot more refreshed after a while though.



Really sad parsley! (and a thirsty strawberry plant)



Dry flower box



Thirsty flowers! Look at the poor Lobelias!!!


Luckily it wasn't ALL sad and thirsty plants but some good news as well. After all, they didn't go without water for more than a day and a half or so (I would never be able to leave my balcony all alone for a week, not unless it rained heavily every day)



The baby tomatoes are growing bigger



And so are the Hydrangea leaves



And the last strawberries
(I wonder if they'll manage to grow big enough to eat?)



I also found some buds in the Runner Beans/Rosenbönor



Runner Bean buds


And now for an interesting addition to my balcony! My neighbors climbing vine! It's a very welcome guest but I fear that she will clean away the tendril sooner or later (she usually does this before they grow this tall).





I'm thinking about cutting off the top of it an try to root it and plant it on my side to have my own creeper. I wonder how she does in the winter (we're not living in the same staircase and don't have any contact, or else I would have asked.)

Friday, July 24, 2009

A machete would have helped!

Today I've trimmed away some of the leaves from the tomato plants. The tomatoes have gotten the same kind of fertilizer as the radishes so they have a huge leaf mass as well. LOL By removing some of it I'm making sure that the baby tomatoes will get a bit more light and air and that the plants will focus their energy on growing baby tomatoes instead of growing huuuge leaves.

It didn't take too much though since they're supposed to still look good as well (it would have been different in a green house)



Tomato leaves



Shaved tomatoes






The other red pelargonium



This one looks like it will be pink though, or maybe white



Radish flower! Less blurry but still too washed out by the sunlight



A jungle of radishes



The tiny Hydrangea leaves are growing too (yes, it gets the same fertilizer)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

New flowers!



One of the red pelargoniums has opened it's first flower.
It's very simple and cute! The color is a bit darker IRL



This very odd (and VERY blurry) plant has opened it's
first flowers as well today. It's a flowering radish!!!


I think I was right in my guesses about the fertilizer. I've never seen flowering radishes before. The radish plants are getting HUGE and they've started to blossom but the actual roots are TINY. I guess I've learned a lesson until next year, do NOT use balcony fertilizer on radishes!!! LOL

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The most beautiful garden of them all!

No gardener can beat Mother Nature so I thought I should add some nature photos for a change. I brought the camera while my mom and I were out driving today. It was wonderful sunny day but unfortunately the sunlight was really string and hard which didn't make for the best photos but will still had a great time



The Baltic Sea/Östersjön (photo by my mom)



(photo by my mom)



(photo by my mom)











Red Clover/Rödklöver



Can't you just smell the the flowers in this bouquet? I can!


... but that probably depends on the fact that they're standing on a table not far from where I'm sitting. LOL

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Going pear-shaped!

Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with my balcony. It's not going pear-shaped THAT way! LOL It's just that I've found some baby tomatoes today and they ARE a bit pear-shaped (which they're of course SUPPOSED to be)



Baby tomato, Yellow Pear



Yellow Pear



Yellow Pear



Baby tomato, Tiny Tim (this one ISN'T supposed to be pear-shaped)



The strawberries weren't pear-shaped either but they WERE gooood!



The strawberry plant that didn't get any berries is getting baby plants instead



The Älvdalen pelargonium seems to do fine on crutches



Mårbacka



Pretty Petunia



These mini Petunias smell just WONDERFUL!



And they look lovely as well



The leaf buds are growing bigger, I think it will make it.



This is how the view looks right now, but at the
moment I think the workers are on vacation.