183E - Monsoon / publishing Boerenwormkruid

 Bloody hell, was it a turn around, or what? Almost unbelievable that last Saturday evening I was sitting out on the Middelharnis waterfront in my bare arms, having dinner! This morning I walked Puck in my winter coat, hat and gloves on.

Pelargoniums hate harsh rain showers!

   My balcony plants really had to adjust to the change in weather this week.

   Last weekend I was still enthusing about how marvellous my balcony garden was looking.

   And then it started to rain. And how! Rain that was so heavy, that even my rain loving banana was hanging sadly against the balcony doors, with a demeanour that spoke "if this continues, I want to move back to Jamaica!" The Pelargoniums, who optimistically shook off the water on the first day, simply gave up the second day. All of them. They went on strike and waved their brown banners: "we demand sun".

The little sunshine they got in between all that rain, was refused. Too little, too late.

Wet, wetter, wettest.

 Well, they are drama queens, the Pelargoniums.  I have decided to keep them on the balcony in Winter (haven't dared to tell them yet), but on the ground, not on the railings, so that they are protected from the storms we are bound to get. I'll cover them with fleece if need be.

The other plants were cold and wet too, but did not give in en masse. But I did take my succulents inside, just in case. My Crassula Ovata 'Horntree' for example, who has shared my home for the last six years.

Crassula Ovata.

   It is too precious to me to risk it. I bought it as a teensy-weensy plant, and had to give it a bigger pot each spring.

   My sedum as well, bought nameless, but I believe it is a Spathulifolium, has moved indoors. She looks on the cusp of flowering, which is lovely of course.

   Another plant I got in, is my Clivia. I don't see many Clivias these days, whilst it is a super easy plant to keep. This summer it bloomed on the balcony for weeks and weeks, and it had 6 flower stems. By now she has grown so tall (55cm excl. the roots) that it is hard for me to find her a suitable spot in my tiny flat. But she is not fussy.

I eat tomatoes every day.

The tomatoes are holding on. I hope that the many green ones will get the chance to turn orange! But if not, I'll turn them into chutney.

As you can see, the purple petunias are drooping like wet rags in their planter. According to my 2nd floor neighbour, the rain will cease next week. I sure hope so! September and October can be such lovely autumn months, I wish that for all my fellow pensioners that cannot afford peak season holiday prices.

And now for something completely different

Trichis Publishing B.V. and I have agreed to them publishing my book. The plan is that it will be in the shops in spring 2025. I'm so pleased that it is finally happening! Sorry folks, initially in Dutch. But I wanted to tell you anyway. Absolutely marvellous, absolutely exciting and a little scary as well. But, as Mark Twain said: "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." And also: "Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live."

Thanks, Mark, you were a very wise man.

Have a lovely weekend!

Renée 

64 - Balcony Tales

 With all the tales about my struggling allotmentgarden, you could  almost, but not quite, forget that I started out with a balconygarden, which is going strong despite the weirdly dry spring weather.

Obviously the magic word is watering. I do water my planters, otherwise those plants I cherish would be dead within a week, with my always blowing wind. And to be fair I have learned through trial and many errors which plants like to live 16 metres above ground, with a prevailing SW wind and lashed by regular gales with shattering rain.

That first summer (moved in in June, together with a guinea pig and masses of plants)I had my beloved cottage plants - lobelia, sweet peas, roses, lilies, honeysuckle, lavatera, fuchsias, busy lizzies and then some. And they all took a second look at the balcony and said no, thanks, we are not happy here! 

It took an episode of Gardener's World (it was James Wong, I remember) to open my eyes. Crickey, I had moved those plants from a sheltered back garden to a cliff top! No wonder they did not feel at home.

The second summer I bought cliff top plants. Grasses (carex and festuca), scabiosa, daisies, campanula. Together with the lobelia which proved tough enough, they did well, but it felt ... sparse. I like my garden to be lush. So I moved in hostas (no slugs on the 3rd floor, I thought, and boy was I proved wrong), who did fine, and then I went wild and grew courgettes. Big mistake, they took up so much room I could hardly sit outside to enjoy their massive leaves, and new stray dog Puck kept trying to sqeeze in as well. And I fell in love with two roses, so they competed for space-with-thorns-on.

The third summer I broke my arm and had to rely on help, so kept it simple. Still, it looked good with heather, lavender and the herbs, nasturtium and calendula which were already there before The Launch. (Puck launched me when she tried to chase a cat. I realised how strong she actually is during my maiden flight, Puck felt very guilty afterwards and the black cat just about sang nana-na-naaaaa-na).

This is the fourth summer. Because of the cost of my allotmentgarden I have only bought 3 geraniums, 2 begonias, 1 scabiosa, 1 wallflower, 1 clematis, 5  lobelia and 2 verbena. (Ha!) The discovery of this year is the heucheras I had put in in Autumn to replace the lavender (not happy). The heucheras actually like my conditions, and I really really like them back. It is a gorgeous plant, with its dark brown-red undersides, especially when the sun shines through.

Foolhardy (yes, know thyself) as I am, I could not resist to put some self-sown digitalis and verbena bonariensis in my planters, just to see if they would survive bolstered up by the sage and rosemary. We shall see. You can be certain I will take photos when they do.

You can read and see more about my gardens on Instagram@songsmith2962  and Pixelfed@DutchDeltaWoman  . Enjoy your Sunday.