When I first decided to start a garden on my balcony, I envisioned it mostly containing herbs and maybe an occasional veggie plant. Flowers were much lower on my list of priorities. Plus it seemed like too much effort to try to find pretty flowers that do well in full shade. I’m really glad that I decided to make the effort though because the flowers add so much color and life to my balcony. They make me smile every time I come home.
What’s blooming now: Early May
I’m happy to report that my hydrangea is still alive. Not only is it still alive, but it is actually starting to get new flowers. I’m crossing my fingers that my good luck continues with this.
This bacopa is a relatively new addition to the garden. It was a gift from my parents because they knew I was looking for shade plants. When I first got this one it was a little bit battered from being outside in the garden center and part of it actually broke off when I touched it. But I replanted it in a bigger container with good soil and it is doing great now. So don’t be afraid if your flowers are a little windblown or tired looking when you buy them. Most likely they will come back with some TLC.
The lavender is continuing to grow well. I had read online that lavender can be kind of tricky to grow, but so far I’ve had no problems with it. It’s got tons of buds now and some of them are already developing flowers.
This last container started out as a bit of a garden fail. I planted seeds (impatiens and coleus) weeks ago and have been waiting for them to sprout. And waiting. And waiting. I’m not the most patient person when it comes to this kind of stuff, but it really seemed like nothing was going to happen with these. So I told the seeds that if they didn’t sprout by the time I can back from my New York trip last week I was going to replace them with new plants. Still nothing. So this past weekend I planted these fully grown impatiens and coleus plants. I can be a pretty tender hearted gardener sometimes, but I don’t feel bad about this decision at all. I don’t think those seeds were ever going to do anything. Plus, it’s not like I didn’t warn them…
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