Shades of Green and patches of Fuchsia.

One of our requirements when we were looking for a place was it had to have a balcony. There's something about having that option of being outside yet still being inside, that makes having a balcony worth having. An extension of the living room or just a quiet place to hang out.

I never used to have a green thumb but when i entered my 20's, somehow plants started liking me more. Correction: Plants didn't start dying on me. I am currently caring for 7 plants that sit comfortably on our window ledge and so far they look happy. There's 2 in the bathroom and one Aloe Vera in the kitchen.

And with Summer coming up, the sun has been making more frequent appearances which gives us more reason to be outdoors. So that's when we decided we'd get rid of the severely dehydrated plants that have plastered themselves to the sides of the planter boxes and the rose bush that refuses to come back to life.


Every resident in the block has made some kind of effort to do up their balcony. I'm sure it's probably unheard of to let your plants wilt and be a sore sight. When we moved in the plants weren't looking too healthy but because it was Winter, we just figured they weren't hardy plants. And that we'd wait till warmer weathers to sort them out. And seeing that J had some time and we hadn't planned on going anywhere over the weekend, we figured we'd designate some time to prettifying the balcony.


Saturday, 16 May:
So our mission was to do up the balcony and get some gorgeous flowers. Bauhaus is basically this hardware store that sells everything plus gardening items. About 10 minutes in the opposite direction that we usually drive into the City, stands this massive store. It's huge! The image above is only half of the building, we got there an hour before closing and i'm sure had we gotten there earlier, we'd still be walking through there til they shut. Seriously, you could spend hours in there wasting time and money.


So that's us walking through the dozens of aisles of plants and flowers. All J knew was that he wanted some kind of creeper at the end of each planter box. So J went down one aisle and i went down another and somehow we came to an agreement on which plants we liked.


Everything was grouped in such a way that finding a certain species was just a matter of knowing which category it fell into. My knowledge in gardening extends to reading the little tags that come with flower pots. And if it says full sun, then i give it full sun. Plus never water plants under the sun, as the water droplets can damage the leaves when the rays hit them.

I also believe that if you talk to your plants and tell them nice things, they "listen". Telling them that they're beautiful and sending them good vibes somehow helps. Well that's what i like to think.


In the covered area were flowers of all shapes and sizes. Your options seemed endless.


We eventually went with these off-pink flowers. The colour reminds me of soft marshmallows set amongst deep green leaves. And when they're buds they look like roses with long tails and when they blossom they look like orchids. I've already forgotten the name of the flower but the lady assures us that it will grow on the balcony. I think they're gorgeous.

We also got Fuchsia's also known as 'Son of a Thumb' that can even stand frost and colder temperatures. As well as 2 creeper plants; Wisteria and Pasiflora. We added an umbrella with an attachment that screw onto the side of the balcony should we wish to sit outside without being roasted alive. 1 hour plus and 77 Euros later we were the last to leave and were on our way home.

Sunday, 17 May:
The next day our gardening session began. Whatever the previous tenant had growing in them they seemed to have grown quite well because the roots had taken up the whole pot. No wonder nothing survived. Not only was it dehydrated but it seemed to have suffocated itself.


We originally had the day bed in the middle of the balcony but not only was it wasting space but it would have gotten in the way. So after measuring the length, we lifted it above our heads and turned it 90 degrees. It fit exactly at the end of the balcony and figured it was meant to be.


After about 4 hours of re-potting and trying not to spill the fresh soil all over the place, we got into cleaning and rearranging the balcony so it would be more space sufficient.

These are the flowers on the left...


As you can see the trees have got their leaves back and they've taken over the view.


And there's our purple umbrella with our middle planter box. In my middle planter box i re-potted some Sempervivum mix and also converted it into a rock garden. Basically any shells and rocks that J and i collect during holidays or visits to any place, we'll add them to our collection.


Instead of them collecting dust in a jar or using up space on the window ledge, we'll use them as decoration for our mini rock garden. We figured it would be a better way to admire them. The ones above are shells we found on our impulsive overnight trip to the Netherlands.

Eventually, i'll get around to planting some, carrots, radishes, sugar peas and tomato seeds. We got an assortment of seeds that i plan to try and grow next month. So it'll be kind of cool to have my own little vegetable garden.

And this is the planter box on the right with the sun blinding me in the background...


We then spent another 2 hours scrubbing part of the floor and the sides because they were covered in a layer of moss, dust and dirt. I'm not sure when the last time they were cleaned but it was absolutely filthy. It's amazing what a bit of soap and water can do. The place had transformed itself and it looked like it got a fresh layer of paint.


By the end of it all we were exhausted. Our balcony gets the afternoon sun, so it's perfect for a snooze or a place to chill when the sun goes down. And since there are no buildings across blocking our view, we don't have to worry about nosy neighbors peeking into our place.


It's amazing what some water and sunshine can do. All the trees have recovered from the Winter blues and even the bridge below is slowly being swallowed up by the leaves.


I woke up this morning to have another look at our balcony. I love sitting outside now. Whether it's to have a cigarette or just to admire our plants. It's so peaceful with the birds gossiping away and the swaying of the trees. J often finds me drifting off into a moment, staring out into space.

It's hypnotizing.

So anyway, i followed the patches of morning sun and noticed something white on the ground. And there was our neighborhood white duck soaking in the morning sunshine. I don't know why but it was one of my moments that needed to be captured and so i ran in to get my camera.

I think he may have escaped from the local Butcher because he's the only white duck in the area. He stands out like a sore thumb amongst the wild ones but despite his appearance, he fits in just perfectly with his fellow friends.