Sunny days are here

After a period of somewhat unseasonable cold, we are right now having the most wonderful sunshine.
Which led me to the re-discovery of a forgotten space- namely, the balcony of our flat.
When I moved in there, I had started out furnishing it with flower pots and boxes hanging from the rails. I kept that up for several years, and then the pots and the boxes started to come apart (not every kind of plastic can stand several year´s exposure to summer heat and winter frost). Besides, I quit smoking, so the main reason for me to go out on the balcony was gone, too. Thus, I did declutter most of the old containers and put the other ones in the cellar instead of replanting them.
This year, I have decided to make the balcony usable again. We still had two garden chairs and a table out there, and I have gone and picked up a multi-tiered holder for spice pots, and gotten the remaining of the old pots from the cellar, too.
And I found something nifty for the rails. The old flower boxes I´d had were hung on metal holders. These were enamelled, and when the paint came off -which happened rather quickly- they started to rust and bleed orange-ey streaks down the wall. After decluttering them, I wasn´t too keen on buying replacements that would not hold out any longer (I don´t do paint jobs in our flat, apart walls).
What I discovered  now at the gardening store is a style of hanging box that has the part that goes over the rail to hang the box fully integrated into the box itself, so, no more rusting metal there. Now we have a balcony framed in flowers and herbs again. Another plus is that the plants in the boxes also give at least some protection from curious eyes- I did pick plants that grow upwards instead of hanging downwards for that purpose.
We did, yesterday, take advantage of the mild weather and sat out on the balcony, by the light of a candle, enjoying the fresh air, the song of a blackbird that sat in one of the trees in our back yard, and the smell of fresh lavender and rosemary emanating from the spice pots. It could almost make you forget that we live in the middle of a rather big city.
Having to water these plants is a small price to pay for that. And the spice plants will be used in my kitchen, too. Organically grown, and in varieties that usually aren´t sold in the veggie store. So, our little paradise will even pay for its upkeep.



Julia