My Balcony Is Finished!

I'm happy to report that my city balcony is finished! Here is the before and after - the before shot was taken right after I picked up flowers to add to the balcony...

Here is what I did and the flowers that I used... After scrubbing the surface and interior of the balcony "walls", I potted all of my flowers. Because the railing for the flower boxes is metal and rounded at the corner, you cannot put flower boxes that wrap around (sadly), so I had to buy 3 flower boxes facing the street and gray pots for the rest. I wanted zinc but I had a hard time finding zinc planters that drain and I really needed planters that drain. The cool thing about the flower boxes that I found is that they have water meters in them so you can always check to see if your plants and flowers are well hydrated (or not).

After potting everything with flower soil, I cleaned up the big mess of dirt that was everywhere (and on me!) and then washed the balcony surface again. Later, I added the plastic bright pink and white rug that I bought a few months ago at a shop in Hannover called Kiwi.

I then tipped an IKEA wooden basket upside down to act as a small corner plant stand, and potted geraniums in a terra-cotta pot and placed those in the corner of the balcony on top of the wooden basket. I tipped a zinc bucket upside down to make another plant stand, and topped that with a planter I had (that I nearly threw out) and in it, I planted Schneeflocke - or Schleifenblume. In English, this white flowering plant is known as Iberis or Candytuft. Germans use this as a digestive tonic but it has also been known to be quite medical in other ways - used in large doses in the past to treat gout and rheumatism! You can also get a little "high" from it, and it can give you diarrhea. So it may not be something you'd want around if you have a cat that likes to chew on plants and flowers!

I then cleaned the bench very well and placed that back on the rug, topping it with 3 seat cushions from Strauss Innovation that I picked up last week (and really loved) because they remind me of Indian block prints. Really pretty and comfortable to sit on. I also added a candle in a pretty white metal candle holder for the evenings when I want something pretty to glow outside while I'm sitting there but I'm thinking it will mostly be used as decoration more than actual "use".

 The flowers that you see around the railing are mixed - geraniums, schöterich with it's pretty yellow flowers (known in English as Wallflower or Erysimum and is native to this part of the Europe and also Asia), teppichglockenblume (Serbian bellflower, trailing bellflower which is native to the Dinaric Alps in former Yugoslavia) and the schleifenblume (Iberis/Candytuft).

I also bought 3 lavender plants and put them in a 4th window box (not photographed) that I'll put on my bench since I'm not always sitting outside and the spot is perfect for lavender - plus I'm hoping to attract a few honeybees! :) I'm so happy I straightened up my little balcony. It's nice out there now and makes me smile when I look outside (versus before, it made me feel a bit gloomy!).

Have a nice weekend and a beautiful mother's day to all of the lovely mamas reading this blog. :)

xo, Holly

 (photos: holly becker)