jeanne d'arc

Crocuses are usually the first to pop ip from the ground and bloom; a sign of spring. Our white crocuses, Jeanne d'Arc, have finally bloomed! They looked beautiful! Sadly, they lasted about a week, which was disappointing. Their petals looked very delicate, almost as papery as poppies. Perhaps their blooms don't last as long in their first year? In any case, they were nice to see while they lasted.

spring balcony garden 2013

Last weekend, we bought a bag of compost at the Union Square Greenmarket. I thought it was a good time to lay down some nutrients for the plants as they were beginning to come out of the soil, sprout new foliage, and buds. The seller advised us to apply a half inch of compost to each planter.



A week later, there were visible improvements to their development and growth. The tulips shot up some more. The planter with hyacinths and crocuses are more lush and green. The new growth of the irises are also doing well!





I also pruned back the mini rose bushes though left some tall stems because I could see potential growth. They too got a sprinkling of compost, which seemed to help with their foliage. Lots of new bright green leaves. I also didn't notice anymore black aphids. I had sprayed all the roses neem oil based solution.



Unfortunately, it's not all goods news. We lost a bunch of 'Pauline' dwarf irises last weekend and I believe it is due to a couple of factors over watering and/or the pot sitting in water, and apparently, they needed to be planted closer to the surface. I noticed the green shoots looked dry with yellowing tips. When I tugged on them, the shoots easily pulled away leaving a hole where it sprouted forth.

A couple of bulbs have not shot through the soil, which has me concerned. These are the Florentine tulips, delicate yellow tulips, and coral lilies. After searching online for other people who have experienced or have knowledge of growing these particular flowers, I learned that the florentine tulips may need a bit more sun and the coral lilies comes out later in the season. Well, I hope that is the case and I will see something in the near future.

The Japanese maples and peach tree loved the compost. The Beni Hime JM is doing especially well! It's leaves are bright pink, almost fuchsia, and like delicate feathers unfurling. It's really quite a pretty sight!



The buds of the peach tree are showing their blushing pink color. They are ready to explode open! I'm looking forward to these blossoms opening soon!



It won't be long until the garden will be filled with color and sweet fragrance from the flowers.

garden plans 2013

We are going to cut back on the "grow your own" in 2013. We will buy a limited number of starter plants, which will include heirloom tomatoes and a variety of chili peppers. We may include a few herbs like basil and lemongrass though our basil crop from last year was ruined by leaf miners. I love lemongrass! Besides enjoying them as an aromatic in cooking, I like them as ornamental grass. And at the end of the growing season, I collect the dried grass to use as mulch.

In addition to the fall planted bulbs, which have already begun to pop from the dirt filled planters on the balcony, I think we will grow more flowers in 2013. Flowers in summer will be great especially if they are fragrant! We tried to grow dahlias last year. They started out great but was infected with both the white powdery mildew, spider mites, and aphids. I'm going to try to grow dahlias again this year. Other flowers we will grow in 2013 are daylilies, gladiolus, and more irises though I planted some in the fall for what I assume will bloom in the spring? I guess I will find out sooner or later.

 

Hopefully growing flowers on the balcony will make a nice little haven for us to enjoy. And in order to enjoy the garden, we will need a place to sit so acquiring furniture is a must for 2013. I have had my eyes on this French bistro set by Fermob.

Here's to an exciting new gardening year!

strawberry plants: year 2

The strawberry plants are still alive and are getting ready to sprout forth new leaves. I noticed one of the plants continued to produce berries even through winter. It was dried by the time I found it when I was clearing the plants of its dried leaves. Then again, the winter was pretty mild but good to know that one of them can still produce.

I also found annoying tiny black aphids hiding out on the underside of some leaves and definitely on the stems. Fortunately, I spotted them and did my best to spray the plants with a neem oil based repellent to kill and prevent their return. Will make sure to spray again next week.

We have two strawberry planters on the balcony. One of the strawberry planters was attacked by a pigeon, at least that is what TH told me. I also noticed the pigeon poop around the damaged planter. As TH explained, the pigeon was pecking the planter and bits of the glazing came off. He further added that the pigeon didn't seem right like maybe he flew into something and got screwed in the head as a result. It would explain the pigeon's odd behavior of attacking the planter. This particular strawberry planter contained the pink galore strawberries.

ranunculus

I finally got some ranunculuses! They are such beautiful flowers with an odd name! They're also called Persian Buttercups. The scientific name is Ranunculus asiaticus. I've seen some beautiful arrangements with these flowers especially when grown in clusters. I find the white ones are so pretty because they have a touch of green.

The ones I picked up were available at the Union Square Greenmarket. One particular vendor was selling them $3 each, or 2 for $5. The colors were limited but I picked out some nice ones; a goldenrod yellow, two white ones, and this pretty mauve. It's always best to pick out potted flowers that have not blossomed and have multiple buds when possible. The ones I got were opened with some buds. I did get one that was a single flower but I liked the color. It was the only one of its color that I saw. The flowers stay in bloom for about 4 to 6 weeks; at least that is what I am told.

Ranunculuses are spring bloomers and return each year. Their corms look like mini bunches of bananas, which can be divided. I'm hoping to also get some seeds from these flowers. I'm not sure what the seeds look like or how easily I can acquire them but I'm sure I can find out through the World Wide Web.

I've planted them in one of the Root Pouch planters and they look great together. :)

spring is upon us!

Well, it's 2013 and spring is upon us! Late last year, I purchased and planted a lot of bulbs despite TH's warning of not over gardening on the balcony again. And now that winter is basically over, the bulbs have started to sprout!

The bulbs included tulips, irises, hyacinths, and crocuses. The flowers range in color. I wanted to stick to a color theme, black and white, but failed once I started doing research and seeing so many different colors of flowers that I wanted to plant instead. Some people may say I should be concerned with having too many colors on the balcony but I'm not worried. I was very conscientious about the colors I selected. And seeing as I planted to them in a variety of planters, I can arrange them accordingly once they blossom.

Not only are the bulbs showing signs of renewed life, so is the peach tree! The branches are studded with blossom buds! Admittedly, the tree isn't aesthically and physcially appealing but it's growing - you will see new green branches. I'm looking forward to when the weather starts to warm up.

 

heirloom bulbs from Old House Gardens

I came upon Old House Gardens while researching for next year's plantings. A couple of things appealed to me about OHG.

*User friendly format/website.
*Friendly, honest, and knowledgeable.
*The descriptions and photos of the flowers they offer are extremely helpful.
*Quantities generally start small depending on the flower, which is perfect for me.
*Ordering is easy.

Despite TH having warned me to not over do it with the plantings, I selected a few more bulbs to grow on the balcony. And seeing as I was not limited to buying 10 or more in a pack, I was not worried about over planting next year as I did during my first year.

With that said, I'm really excited about planting the bulbs I got from Old House Gardens. Firstly, they're super nice and professional regarding customer care. They kept me informed at each step of the my order being processed. Secondly, I love that they send and include handwritten letters. It just makes the relationship personable, and I appreciate these things.

The bulbs arrived safely and carefully packed in the box! The bulbs are packaged in brown paper bags with the description stapled to each bag. The lily bulbs was packaged in a plastic bag with some wood shavings. A kind hand written note was included along with planting instructions and a copy of their color catalog though more bulbs are offered online.

My order included the following:
(photos and description are from the Old House Garden website)

The Black Parrot tulip. I've seen other photos of the Black Parrot from other online bulb sellers but this one cried out to me. I thought this would be nice addition to the black and white theme for the balcony garden.

"The best parrot tulip of the 20th century and dramatic enough to be showcased on the covers of both Martha Stewart Living and Horticulture, ‘Black Parrot’ is a dark, glossy maroon, exuberantly ruffled and frilled."


Orange Favorite tulip. And then I saw this and the black and white theme balcony garden went out the window. Another parrot tulip with beautiful and complimentary colors.

"This deliciously fragrant flower is “one of the best of all tulips,” writes Anna Pavord in her monumental Bulb, although it’s “not for the faint-hearted.” (Does that sound like a challenge?) Its “exceptionally long” buds open into “stupendous,” glossy, ruffled blooms of orange feathered with wisps of rose and green."


Florentine tulip. I could not resist getting a few of these adorable yellow tulips. I love how the outer petals curl at the tips. The description certainly helped to seal the deal!

"Violet-scented and informal, this charming wildflower has small, yellow, almond-shaped flowers that nod in bud and then open wide in the sun."


Coral Lily. While browsing through OHG's website, I saw these cute lilies and I just had to have this in our garden!

"...this pixie lily has glossy, red-to-orange flowers that are bright but never gaudy."


And, I was pleased to learn in their recent newsletter that they would be including extra bulbs to orders that are shipped to areas affected by Super Hurricane Sandy. My package arrived with an extra bag of Brilliant Star tulip bulbs. I'm really looking forward to planting them and seeing them bloom!

"Its glossy red petals are pointed, giving it a star-like form, and when they open wide in the sun to reveal their bright yellow and black center, the effect is truly “grand, rich, and dazzling” "

I would definitely return to Old House Gardens in the future for spring planting flowers. They have a great selection. The prices are reasonable in my opinion. I recommend going to them if you're seeking some beautiful and unique flowers to grow in your garden especially if you want to set yourself apart from your neighbors.

The sequence of the photos are in the same order as they were packaged in the photo above.