Greenthumb Greenhorn

To my excitement yesterday, I came out onto my balcony and noticed the first bloom of my Snapdragon. It’s white flower had apparently exploded out of the bloom and was shyly showing its face to the world. In this container I have a white snapdragon and four white petunias. I’m quite excited to see how it will come along.

After waking up late today, I walked out onto the balcony again and saw that more plants were beginning to show their colors. That is pretty rewarding and goes to show that even a man who burns popcorn regularly can water his plants sufficiently.

It has been warm here recently as the average day temperature this week was probably around 78 degrees and we had a lot of sun. I’ve backed off the watering from once every day and a half to once every two days and they seem to appreciate that. That was one of the things I was a bit worried about. My first experience in gardening was house sitting for my grandparents last summer. The Midwest was experiencing very high temperatures, very little rain, and a lot of dying plants. My grandmother had spent countless hours and thousands of dollars on beautiful plant design, and was entrusting it to me while on a cruise in the Mediterranean.

Because of the heat, I looked at the top of every pot and the ground in every bed and figured because it was dry, the plant must be thirsty. I watered in the morning prior to the heat’s arrival and in the early evening when the head had subsided. The plants were still shriveling and and hiding. I went to the library to research the drinking habits of all the plants she had. I followed watering patterns that were suggested, to no avail.

It was a bit of a joke to the family that I was so worried about these plants, and by the time of my grandparents arrival I was sure they were all dying or dead. But when my grandmother had looked around, she was very happy with their current state. The plants know how to survive in the heat, and I had not apparently drowned them in water. I did alright.

Still worried about my watering habits, I have read tips from putting one’s finger a few inches in the dirt to buying small automatic watering cans. The whole idea of me starting this gardening hobby was to keep me busy (and obviously for the spoils of a garden) during the summer months. I am a 27 year old student studying to be an Elementary educator who has summers and will continue to have summers off. Maintaining a no work garden seems a bit silly in my situation. Insert finger into dirt.

I’m going for a walk today at a small park in my area. I don’t expect to find many plants or flowers that will fascinate me, but I’m taking my camera with.

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I will be visiting the Lilly Gardens this week and hope to take some very nice pictures. I will post about my visit and show photos of the plants I really enjoyed. The Lilly Gardens, the same family as Lilly Pharmaceuticals, lies on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (or maybe the other way around).

It is exceptionally nice to the wallet as it costs nothing in terms of admissions. The feet are sore at the end of the day, but it stays very relaxed, and quiet, and there are plenty of areas to sit and watch people as they pass.

Stopped by a very nicely stocked garden shop today, and was recommended an assortment of three plants to put on my balcony. From the moment I walked in the greenery, however, I again experienced what is becoming familiar. No rant needed, but why is it that nearly all of the employees who take care of plants lack kindness and personality. With the exception of two, I have found the employees at the now 5 or so shops unhelpful and sometimes coarse.

Nevertheless, the purchase today excited me as it will bring some fragrance and variety. I bought one each of Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), a dark blue Lobelia (Lobelia erinus), and a red begonia. One of the first descriptions I read was about the honey smell of the Alyssum, and it was dead on. I’ve placed the pot right next to the chair where I do my writing and reading. Though she may be wrong, the lady who assisted me today said that it should grow fine with the 4+ afternoon sun hours I receive. Check back in a few weeks.

I also had one question answered today, but the answer seemed less than confirming. I have been reading that flowers and plants call for various spacing allotments. Whether that distance is 9 inches or 12 inches, I was confused about the many pictures and pots I have seen. Often, there seemed to be many beautiful and different flowers filling and overflowing that would not allow for 12 inches of space. The answer I received, namely from family and a little help from the shop keeper, was that with the size pots I’m using, I could get away with three maybe for transplants. So that’s currently what I am working on, but still looking for more information on that.

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One final note, I was very excited to receive my first comment on the last post. In the many (very short ran) blogs I’ve had, the only messages that filled the section were spam. The icing on the cake however was to see that the comment was from a fellow blogger, and even better, one that also has a balcony gardening blog.

Sue’s comment: Your balcony looks more or less the same size as mine – and there’s a lot you can do! I’ve got all the normal balcony plants like petunias and pelargoniums, but also a tree, some climbers, hollyhocks, dahlias and a host of others. I’m a few years ahead of you, but still learning. Come visit and perhaps we can share some ideas!

Sue runs balcony-garden.blogspot.com, a site which I added to the blogroll on the left. I’ve learned a bit just from one day of perusing her site. She keeps it very updated with photos – and being a man with little to no decorative ability, I appreciate and will likely “steal” some ideas. Thanks for your comment, Sue, you better believe I’m going to keep visiting.

The love of dirt is among the earliest of passions, as it is the latest.
~Charles Dudley Warner – My Summer in a Garden

I know very little about gardening; that is to say, I know seeds and plants need water, sunlight and a bit of TLC, but the difference between Full Sun and Part Shade is foreign until recently. Recently purchased and borrowed books detail the difference between a full 6 hours of direct sunlight and a touch of light in the afternoon.

Thus, being a student returning to school after a 3 year hiatus (I received a bachelors from Indiana University in 2003), I have summers off and way too much time to sit around the house. I moved to this apartment I am currently living in December. The idea to decorate my balcony was fleeting at the time, but when the spring rains and abnormally cold weather subsided, it dawned on me that picking up a hobby that is not only difficult at times, provides the ability (responsibility?) to learn, and ultimately to play in the dirt would not be a bad way to spend my summer. Even more, it would provide a hobby that allows one to think (not too unlike jogging/walking) and release stress for the remainder of one’s life. But that seems awfully dramatic.

This blog will be an account of my trials and tribulations in the gardening craft. Again, I know very little about the job and I’m sure many plants will perish beneath my hands. But to have purchased a Container Gardening book off the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble, and to see the huge array of colors and scents I could manage in my very own back-balcony brought some kind of hidden passion outwards.

Here is a look at what I have to work with:

When I started to plan this garden, I wanted a lot of bright colors like red, orange, and even some whites. I’m not sure what all looks good together, but from what I gathered in the texts I purchased and borrowed, I knew just as important as colors are textures and the way plants grow.

Confused as where to start, I did what every man getting into gardening should do, recognize you know very little about what looks good and ask for help. Of course this is only true with gardens, we don’t need direction anywhere else in our life. But short of tools, know-how, and experience I drove to the local Walmart in hopes to find something cheap and abundant. Of course Walmart is not a place many will applaud for their gardens, as a single student I need lower prices and that’s the best I could do.

A very generous lady helped me with ideas for my first railing box. She mentioned that purchasing Spikes (Salvia splendens) might be a good idea. They are fairly easy to keep alive and provide a more masculine base for my porch. Knowing no better, and trusting the sage advice of the Walmart employee, I purchased two six-packs – one a bright red and the other a darker hue. I also mixed in a lamium and a coleus for some added greenery at her recommendation. You can see the basket sitting on a chair in the photos above. I haven’t been able to master, yet, the hanging of this on my railing.

So I have much work to do, and plenty of learning on the types of flowers, and how best to incorporate them into my balcony. But that begs two questions:

1) What are you looking to do? What is your theme?

I’m not sure I really have one. I’ve also liked things a bit off kilter and eclectic. If I could match the feel of Southern wildflowers into mix-match furniture, that would be fantastic. I’m using this season as a learning process. I’d like to record my adventures and likes/dislikes about each of the plants I come into contact with whether in my balcony garden or as I am walking around town. I want to learn about the many different plants, and as I become a bit obsessive about all hobbies, I like to dive very deep into their histories.

2) What flowers do you like best?

I guess that probably changes by the hour. Life and culture currently have me longing for a old-Southern lifestyle. Think old Antebellum housing. I like the wild flowers, and the perennials. Most of which would be difficult to grow on a shaded balcony in the Midwest. Sifting through my recent purchase – here are are few just to give an idea.

Perinnials
Azure Monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii)
Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii)
Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Violet Sage (Salvia x superba)

Annuals
Browallia (Browallia speciosa)
Rocket Larkspur (Consolida ambigua)
Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule)

I have to say, that just from the pictures I’ve seen, my overall favorite was listed last there. The Iceland Poppy blows my mind and I am not sure why. Maybes its the pastels or they way it seems to spread its arms, but as soon as I hit the page with its photo I fell in love. I’ve been looking for it everytime I visit my local garden stores, but no luck.

Nevertheless, this blog, one of many I have started, will provide a medium that I can not only look back on years down the road, but a responsibility to keep up with my learning. Late May is probably not the time to start my plantings (or maybe it is, I just don’t know), but better late than never. I have the time and time to complete research and I really enjoy that.

Please join me in this adventure and feel free to comment or laugh at my ineptitude. I look to join the community of online gardeners and learn from them. That’s what makes communities of any population so rewarding.