The Balcony Flowers

We have a very small balcony. And on the balcony there are three flower baskets. Since nothing can be hung from the balcony railings, we placed the baskets on the back of the chairs using zip ties. So the baskets face out away from our view. During the winter we turn the chairs so the baskets face the living room. That way we can enjoy the Christmas decor and greens. In the spring and fall we change out the flowers to whatever is more seasonal. The spring/summer are more annual in nature; in the fall/winter pansies and violas are planted. And of course there is always ivy for trailing plants and spikes for something tall. We also have a small miniature rose plant in a pot that my husband has nurtured for the past two years. This past winter was pretty brutal and we didn’t think anything would survive the almost below zero temps! As the sun begins to warm the balcony - especially in the afternoon in to the sunset - the brown stems of winter are slowly turning green with a bit of green leafy additions. I cut back the spikes but they didn’t survive. But the ivy is doing well and the violas are doing much better than the pansies. It’s just so wonderful to see any sign of life. But the biggest surprise is the miniature rose. It too is doing well. One of these days we will refresh the baskets. We always had gardens in our Midwest and Capitol Hill homes. This is just enough to keep us occupied. 

In the Neighborhood

Usually when we take our morning walk we head towards the national mall and Smithsonian buildings. But when it gets too hot, we prefer to stay in the shade and away from the concrete jungle. Since today was warm, but not blistering, we decided a stroll through the neighborhood and it was the best if we stayed on the shady side of the street. The goal of the walk was to end up at Ted’s Bulletin for breakfast. With school out or almost out we weren’t sure if it was going to be too busy. The best time is to arrive after breakfast and before lunch. So before we went there we walked straight up third street to H where there is tons of construction going on like it seems to be everywhere else. Within two blocks are Giant and Whole Foods grocery stores. The red streetcar buzzed by past the myriad of restaurants and apartment buildings. But it’s still too urban for my taste - I much prefer the charm of Capitol Hill but also know a lot of that charm is in your head when you’re dealing with 100 plus year old structures. Someone had balloons tied to a fence in front of their house announcing twins. We passed through Eastern Market on the way to Ted’s. It was busier than usual but we were earlier than usual. We have been there often enough that the wait staff know us. Now we need to decide what we want to do for the rest of the summer. We just don’t have a plan just yet - except to walk in the neighborhood.