Well HELLO Garden!

A few posts ago, I said I may blog about the garden soon, but that I wouldn't hold your breath.

Well - for those of you who did hold your breath, the time is FINALLY here!

It's nothing big, it's nothing too exciting, but I thought it was about time I gave you a little look into what's going on in my balcony garden!

The poor little lime tree.

It's doing well, but looks so bare since it's lost all it's leave and I went crazy pruning it!

And holy wow - look at the Christmas tree!

This thing just keeps growing and growing and growingggggggg.

Oh and lookie there - the raspberry plant may very well come back this year!

I'd love to get some actual raspberries this year though...

My fresh herbs are doing SO well.

I can't believe it either because I sorta neglected them the last few months

I know I've said it before, and I'll say it a million more times, 

but I LOVE having fresh herbs to cook with.

The newest additions - two hanging planters with ranunculus.

Keep your eye out for updates on these AND hopefully more new additions to the garden soon! 

The geranium that just keeps growing. 

I neglect this baby like crazy over the last year or so, but I still haven't killed it!

And my poinsettia from Christmas time is doing great too!

I don't know if I've ever had one this long and I'm excited to see how long I am able to keep it living. 

While this isn't a very exciting update, I have hopes for the future!

My parents got me all new window box liners and I cannot wait to put them in and get some flowers growing. I could easily buy some flowers because the weather is already nice enough, but I am actually attempting to grow my own using a seedling kit my brother gave me a few years back. So far, I have a few sprouts but nothing worth photographing just yet. Stay tuned though!!

My Poor Garden

Yup, you read that right. My garden is looking pretty poor these days. Sadly, my flowers were already struggling, and the gross heat we've been having recently left the already puny flowers with no hope for survival. :( All, yes ALL of the window boxes now sit empty and I'm wondering if I should just keep them that way until the cool Fall weather is here... I'm thinking I just may!

Now take a look below at all the things that are doing well in my garden. I'm just praying the cooler temperatures come soon, so I don't lose anything else. 

Blueberry and Raspberry Plants

Jalapeno and Basil Plants

The Jalapenos are still goin' strong!

And the herbs are struggling a bit.

But the lime tree is doing just fine.

As is the tomato plant.

But sadly, it's been my least successful tomato plant.

Check back soon for updates. Hopefully I only have new additions and no more losses to report!! Oh - and I'd love any suggestions on things to plant in my FALL garden, which I'll be doing VERY soon!

Fall Gardening

Now that it's Fall, and the weather is FINALLY feeling like it's November, my garden is in a transition phase. That's one of the reasons I haven't really posted about it recently. Oh and the fact that not much had changed the last few weeks...but this week I had new flowers bloom and other fun exciting stuff! 

What other fun exciting stuff?

You really wanna know, huh?

Ok...fine! I'll tell ya...

My tomato plant is not only still doing well - it might be a little small, but still thriving - and now it has brand new blossoms in addition to new teeny tiny tomatoes!

And holy moly - the former miniature Christmas tree is growing like crazy and ginormous compared to what it once was!

My other tree - the key lime tree - is doing quite well too. I have SO many baby limes and I just can't use them fast enough. What I problem...I know! :)

The herbs are all doing pretty well. The oregano is still struggling, and I recently got rid of the thyme. I plan to replace that and maybe add something else too! Any suggestions? What's an herb that you just love to use?

The corner plants are doing AMAZING and just can't get enough of this amazing weather we've been having. I really can't either!!

Lastly, the other window box flowers are struggling, but I don't think they'd last too much longer anyway because the temperatures are getting so cold over night. I may just wait until the Spring, or replace them with sometime cold tolerant.  I'll take suggestions and opinions on this too, folk!

I'm excited for the changes over the next few months. 

Fall Garden Guests

Fall just began and I've been decorating my place like crazy! The fun doesn't stop inside though - I made sure to spread the festiveness to my balcony as well. And THAT is where the Garden Guests come in...

Halloween just isn't the same without a spooky black crow and that brings me to the first visitor. This scary looking guy that's really harmless hangs out by the flowers and looks over at everything.

The second and last visitor is a giant vampire bat that's scary on it's own but get's scarier at night with creepy red flashing eyes!

While we're talking about the garden, let's do a quick update on a few of the wonderful things I've got growin'!

The herbs are pretty much all thriving and I'm hoping they continue to do well for awhile, but I'm scared that the cooler weather is going to kill most of them. I'll be sure to make use of them while I still have them!

This little corner of plants is doing so well and is growing like crazy! There are a few plants in there that are begging for bigger containers. Hopefully I have a little time soon! 

Look how big this Christmas Tree is getting!!!
HUGE!!!!!!

The lime tree is doing amazing and I am loving the pretty much endless supply of limes I have at the moment. 

Lastly, the climbing Jasmine is climbing like crazy, but isn't flowering. I miss their wonderful smell and hope it returns! If not - they still look pretty!!!

A Quick Garden Update

Not much has really changed, so I'll just do a quick update to show you my garden since the last time I posted about it.

For the most part, he herbs are growing like crazy. The new Oregano is suffering a bit, but I cleaned up around it today and am holding out hope that it's not done. The Mint obviously had something eating it, so I got rid of probably about 3/4 of the plant. I'm not worried though because I know Mint grows and spreads like crazy! Everything else is doing well and I hope they continue to into the Fall.  

Oregano, Chives, Sage, Thyme and Rosemary

Mint, Flat Leaf Parsley and Basil

The Lime Tree continues to impress me and I love being able to have fresh limes WHENEVER I want. It's just wonderful I tell you! :)

The tomato plant is still growing and producing yummy tomatoes. I got to enjoy a few right off the vine this week and if looks like there are still many more to come!

The flowers and plants are mostly thriving. One flower worries me because it's quite light green/almost yellow and I know that's not a good sing. I don't know what to do because I have another one exactly like it and it's not having this problem. Does it need more water? Less water? Help!!!

Lots of plants and flowers!

Climbing Jasmine - Doing exactly what I want!

The suffering flower! :(

The thriving flower!

One of the hanging flower baskets.

And lastly - LOOK at this Christmas Tree! It's HUGE! Probably about 3 feet tall or so. I don't know to be honest because I haven't measured it, but I should. Anyway - it's SO impressive because I got it almost THREE years ago,  a few weeks before Christmas, and it was less than a foot tall. It sat perfectly on my counter for the holidays and I planted it in a bigger container shortly after the new year. It's made it through two HOT Southern California Summers and I cannot wait to decorate it in a few month! 

Today

Almost Three Years Ago!

I might try to add more edible things to my garden when the temperatures get cooler. What do YOU think I should add to my garden and start growing this Fall???

Garden Surprises!

Even though I seem to have been neglecting it a little, my garden has recently surprised me in a few different ways. Most of my flowers are doing well and the edible goodies continue to give me tasty treats!

So let me start with the flowers...

I've had these gerber daisies awhile now, and I thought I'd killed them a time or two, but new flowers continue to pop up and I LOVE IT!

I have NO idea what either of these are, but they're doing great and much bigger than they were when I originally planted them. They seems to tolerate the heat quite well and are really spreading out.

My jasmine is doing EXACTLY what I wanted - climbing and weaving it's way through the metal I have against my railing. I just wish it would flower more because it smells amazing!!!

Now onto the edible goods...

My tomato plant still has tomatoes in many different stages AND new buds popping up every day. I don't have the plethora I had in the past, but I've been happy with this year's success.

The herbs are doing GREAT and I am happy they aren't dead from my neglect. I love that I have them so ready and easy to use all the time!

And not pictured - OOPS AGAIN! (I'm sorry!!!)...The lime tree has TONS of limes and many are ready to be used. I had one last week and it was tart, but delicious! I have tons of other little limes too, so I can't wait to see what happens.