Our balcony this year has been very cooperative. Weather here in Tokyo is a bit weird but still our small garden managed to survive. It even surprised us with beautiful blooms! And because the weather is mostly sunny and warm, my fishes are out to play!
White roses! Yes, they are in plural form because two beautiful roses are now the center of attraction of our balcony. I was checking pictures of the same plant from last year. I noticed that it produced a bright pink flower. But now all flowers were white?! Spring must be really warm for this to happen. Nevertheless, the white roses also complement with the lush green leaves around them.
The tiny pink flowers of the Citronella are also in bloom. The flowers add to the beauty of the roses as the two plants blend well together. Lavenders, on the other hand, fills our balcony with soft and relaxing fragrance. Sometimes after watering the plants, the smell enters our house.
Harvests from Our Balcony
Aside from flowers, we also enjoy some herbs and berries that we freshly pick from our small garden. This year, I have been successful growing dill. We love to put it in our omelettes during our weekend brunch.
We also have a handful of strawberry fruits this season. And to protect them from birds, I enclosed the plant box with a fine net. Now we are enjoying sweet strawberries in full size. (Last year when I was about to pick them up, I found only half-size strawberries. The birds ate half of the fruits 🙁 )
I also tried to grow some plants from seeds like fennel, carrots, melon, cucumber, and zucchini. At the moment they look promising. Hopefully by summer or autumn, we would be able to harvest some fruits and vegetables. Can’t wait to pull fresh fennels and carrots out from the ground!
Hi Anna! I love them all, esp. the pink citronella and your strawberry patch. I miss planting herbs in my tiny garden. I’ve tried twice already but all of herbs died, I don’t know what’s wrong. My green thumbs fails me when it comes to orchids, roses and herbs.
Weng
http://www.wengzaballa.com
Hi Ate Weng! Thank you for liking the flowers 🙂 Have you tried growing the herbs indoors? You can try rosemary.. they love the sun and can survive with less water. Basil can be grown indoors too. I would suggest that you put the herbs in separate pots so that they will not compete with each other.
yes, I tried mint, basil, rosemary and parsley. I planted them in separate pots. They all withered 🙁 should I water them everyday?
Hi Ate, please check this link: http://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Growing_Culinary_Herbs