Kissed by a Petunia

What a lovely thought. We have a very small balcony, but it is large enough for three seats. On the back of those seats, we attached three coco lined planters and had them filled with white, yellow, and red flowers from Ginkgo Gardens in DC. The condo rules don’t allow hanging anything off the balcony rails so this was a good alternative. We added three more “mail order” plants from Growjoy to add in our personal touch. Our tiny patio garden on Capitol Hill and our home in the Midwest always had several pots and window boxes, so our condo in northern Virginia would be no different, but a bit limited. The flowers from Growjoy arrived in great shape and the soil was still moist. As the weeks passed the flowers have grown. Yesterday my husband slid lower in the chair and was leaning back against the top of the seat cushion for a bit of shut eye. Then, out of the blue, he said he was being kissed by a petunia. For whatever reason it just sounded so sweet. It is actually rather interesting seeing the flowers up close and personal. The tiniest details come alive. The flowers certainly get the attention they need because we are next to them almost every day after our walk in the morning and playing games on the iPad in the evening - weather permitting. The crows seem to like them too. I’ve actually had  few face offs with Hekyll and Jekyll. The balcony has become one of our favorite living spaces. 

Petunia Stigma

We had a bit of botany in my biology classes at Florida State University. I’m sure we covered a bit of the subject in high school too. But since I’m not particularly good in science or math, many of these related subjects neither stuck with me, nor was I particularly interested. Since we attached a few “coco lined” window boxes to the backs of our patio chairs on the balcony, I now have a birds eye view of the annual flowers planted in them. What interested me the most was a tiny green fluorescent colored ball in the center of the petunias - all of them. Because of the sun, they seemed brilliant. It got me to wonder what it was, so I went about “researching” the subject. I had already read about the best way to keep the petunias flowering by deadheading them correctly. Apparently this green tiny bulb is the stigma, that attracts the pollinators. The names all sounded familiar, but my interest waned after reading a bit more. I was more interested in taking photos of the luscious colors. That in itself tells the story of my brain. I’m more interested in how something looks rather than learn about the function - unless of course, someone tells me about it. Regardless, I’m thrilled to have a tiny garden on our balcony and it’s the first time I can watch everything so closely. I’ve had a lot of time to do that lately - as long as the weather cooperates. 

  

Myrtles Gone Wild

The patio garden was professionally planted when we first moved to DC. It began as nothing more than dirt and was in need of a complete design. Since Myrtles are a big scene stealer here, two small trees were a part of the master plan. One was straight stemmed and placed on the east side; the other had several branches and was more wide than tall. The more wide than tall Myrtles was beginning to look more like an eye sore than a sight to see. With summer taking it's toll on the annuals and the perennial blooms long since gone, we decided to freshen the place up a bit. A few pink dianthus and purple petunias were added. The more wide than tall Myrtle got a whacking along with a lot of other out if control greens. It lost two major branches. I just pressed down and they both snapped, along with a lot of pink purple flowers on the branches that covered the window. Now even without those branches it is plenty big for its place next to the fence. Between that, the huge tomato plant, and the clematis vine, it was looking more weedy than a cozy garden retreat. Now, all I need is a saw to trim it down properly. Unfortunately our family members don't live down the street from us anymore. Where are they when we need them?!

The American Plant Air Plant Replaces the Water Plant

Air plants seem to be all the rage. You see them everywhere.  It reminds me of the time when terrariums were a necessity. We have a hanging planter from Gingko's with two glass vases in our TV room that can be used for a variety of plants, fish, cut flowers, or holiday decorations. Every once in awhile, my cosmos flowers break and I bring them in as cut flowers. They seem to root very quickly, so I'm going to try and replant one and see what happens. We used to have a Betta fish, and always supplied him with water plants. We recently went to PetSmart to find an aquatic plant to put in the glass vase. We found a variegated one and a fake one to fill in if and when needed. Today we went to American Plant to find a couple of annuals to fill in and refresh the patio garden. One petunia and a dianthus would do. While there, we checked out the very large selection of air plants. We already have two small ones, and they do require more care than you might think...a weekly bath and moving to a place with more daylight. My husband takes care of all the indoor plants, and is very particular about the containers and what goes I them. When he saw the tall and unusual looking air plant, I had a feeling he would prefer that to the fake plastic water plant. Now it sits proudly in the glass vase that is hanging on the wall next to a window. I will, however, keep the fake plastic plant just in case. You never know if there might be another Betta fish in our future.