I've been busy with the jungle - and it IS a jungle and it's thanks to THIS place! And for those newbies to GW and this forum, look out because you're about to be infected by PJIC-itis ("Plants Jump Into the Cart") when you see what everyone else is growing. And when you're done, there will be no room left and you WILL forlornly peer out a window while figuring out how to water and/or feed and or just navigate through it all.

So here I am as of today (balcony is 6ft x 40ft and just about completely FULL...lol):

Full - Looking west

Looking west from middle

Far west corner

Full - Looking east

Looking east from middle

Far eastern corner

I think the "garden" is about at a peak and will probably continue to fill out through this month and into next, slowly transitioning in its preparations for fall. As the summer progresses, I should have some mid-late summer things blooming like my crape myrtle, MFs, hyacinth bean vines, and all the volunteer MGs. I haven't seen any flower buds on my pee gee hydrangea yet, but it is still young. That was bought specifically to have some bloom in late summer at some point once it "grows up". LOL

Yes thank goodness for the hose. LOL

Let's see where everyone else is!

I can never get a good long shot of my balcony - always shooting into the (sun)light.

Along the railing, looking east:

Closer shot of eastern corner:

Look closely and you'll see my two baby weigelas:

Out the living room window, looking west. That's my veggie corner and holding/staging area ... LOL!

Here's the new callicarpa, budding out nicely:

Last year's fig. Had a bit of difficulty this past winter, but recovered and putting on little fig buds.

And this is the brugmansia that the devil made me buy:

I'm still growing a lot of annuals, but there are quite a few perennials (flowers and shrubs) out there. I'm working toward not having to plant anything "new" each year.

Fat chance.

PV

I like that idea of that expandable fence attached to the rail. THAT is a cool idea for running vines along and they would probably use that better than plastic fencing.

It's funny but I spotted the fig from a mile away. LOL When I first put mine out near the sunniest spot in the western corner. But then we got a windy storm not long after and that blew a bunch of the leaves off. They have been summarily moved to the other end of the balcony to catch less (but somewhat sufficient) rays (and less wind) there. Both figs have been sprouting new leaves now. I just got a baby one so I am coddling that.

Your weigelas look really happy and you watch - next year they'll double in size. :-D And the callicarpa will too. It has been hard for me to get a picture of mine since it is jammed inbetween my tomatoes and James McFarlane lilac... LOL Both my sister and I bought one (the nursery had a "buy 2, get one free" and we each bought 2 gallon size "Profusion" ones), which each had a central "trunk" with side branches starting to form on it. I have it in a 14" pot and it has about topped out at 4ft and about as wide in the container (looks like the growing tip has died back to keep it from going upwards). This is what it looked like in May when it started blooming (earlier than normal since it was obviously greenhouse grown but outside when I bought it):

I thought the blooms were pretty:

After it flowered, it didn't produce as many berries as I would have liked - I think maybe because of the stuff in the way blocking some of the wind? LOL My sister's has more berry clusters but then it is sortof freestanding where she planted it. Hers isn't quite as full as mine though. I understand that they bloom on new growth so they can (and should be) cut back to near the base like a butterfly bush. I can't wait to see the wild color berries when it's time for them to change color (although that will also mean winter is on its way... yikes).

BTW, these coleuses are YOUR FAULT!!! (heh)

The callicarpa (mine is C. americana) was a "buy one, get one free" deal too - gave the other one to a friend.

There are two new azaleas out there - "Mandarin lights" and "White Lights" (which is supposed to be fragrant). The mandarin has doubled in size, the white is still puny, but alive and looking OK. Hope I can keep them alive.

PV

Question for you jenny_in_SE_PA

Do you have any year round winter hardy container plants, trees, evergreens or shrubs on your balcony ?

Your 48' x 6' balcony is very unique. The 18th floor sounds like you must get some pretty severe exposure to the elements come winter there in PA. My wife & I live on the second floor up here in the North East New England, and our balcony measures just 12' long by 7' wide and fortunately faces the south sun. I have mostly small growing bonsai trees, some mosses (moss over rock), also a few good size emerald green arborvitees (it has been a challenge cramming everything into it's right spot - it is a constant moving puzzle).

Most everything I have on the balcony is winter hardy, and requires a cold winter dormancy to rest through. I wish we were up on the top balcony (6th floor)........not only more privacy, but more view, more sun, and also I would be able to get some snow in the winter to cover and help protect some of my trees from the cold if on the top 6th floor......but I think the cold winter winds would hurt my potted arborvitaes that are too large to move and protect come winter (I have a cold frame all set up on the balcony to protect the plants from going below 20 F degrees). It's okay for all of my potted container plants on our balcony to go just below freezing, but they say anything below 14 degrees F will kill the roots of most potted plants.

I included pictures below of our balcony in the spring, and this summer

I've already looked into the the Bonsai Forum, the Moss Forum, the Container Forum, and now this - the Balcony Gardening Forum. I'm always amazed what I have found on the internet........ I'm really excited to be on-board here with the balcony forum.

Thank you in advance to anyone with comments, answers, or maybe even some
questions about my balcony garden up here in the north east USA zone 5.

Best,

David.

I will post some pics a friend took for me as soon as he gives me the disc :-)

Question for CRUNCHPA - what is that beautiful pink/purple foliage in your first pic??? I must have one!

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What is in the hanging basket?

I love that combination! Your fountain on the first pic is also super cute.

Since this is an update post...
Here's my yard today-

Yes, most of what I have out on my balcony that you see in those pictures, are cold hardy plants. The only things that I have to bring in are my tropicals and subtropicals (eg., plumies, stephanotis, christmas cactuses, a kalanchoe, some hoyas, passifloras, bougainvillea, tropical hibiscus, mandevilla, oleanders, some habanero plants that are now 3 years old, a gardenia, a scented geranium, a white BOP, my 3-year old Elephant Ears, and my 3 fig trees, which can technially stay out there if wrapped them very well, but I give them chill hours, with some wrapping, and bring them inside around January to let them leaf out inside). The rest of the stuff stays out there, including my fishies in the water garden (I have heaters for them), although I do bring in my crape myrtle if it gets too cold.

With respect to the weather, there are some days when it gets windy, but not that often. But I do face NE and when the Nor'easters come up the coast, I get all that rain and wind head-on. In winter, the balcony gets blizzarded on. LOL

This was the winter of 2003 after a 20" blizzard, where I had over 1 foot drifts on the balcony. LOL:

Great pics everyone! Jenny, your garden is as lush as ever, crunchpa: I love your hanging baskets and your colors... This is GREAT INSPIRATION!

This is my first update on my city balcony progress, and judging from all the pics below, I still have a long way to go!!! Mine is a tiny space (6x10 ft) compared to some of yours... but I've got petunias, sweet potato vine, small dahlias, and a little herb garden. I have an oleander too, did not get a pic of it, except I think you can see it in the last picture next to the herbs (got to remember to keep it away of the herbs, because of the toxic leaves). Also not pictured is a small jasmine I got last week.

Here is the balcony before:

and after (it's still a work in progress):

East side planter #1:


South East side planters #2, #3:


South West side planters #4 & #5: I love the dahlias, they look like a lotus flower, and they are blooming like mad...

West side planter #6: the herb garden! (I since have transplanted the basil back into a pot on my table because it was getting too tall and getting broken by the wind -it gets pretty drafty up here on the 18th floor!)

Rose

Katherine, you have done a super job with a small space!

I too, have that same fountain ...tho I have messed with mine. When I got done planting, I needed something to DO!

I haven't taken update pics because I've been waiting for things to look good again. The 10 days of thunderstorms really wreaked havoc on a lot of my flowers. I wonder how you avoided that, Katherine.

New Passiflora:

First Moonflower bloom:

Hyacinth Beans(left)and MGs(right):

crunchpa - is that coreopsis "moonbeam" in your second pic? And what's the variegated plant in with the pink flowers? Very nice.

David (bonsai_moss ) - thank you so very much for the pictures of your balcony. What an elegant space you have created. I am very fond of bonsai, but have difficulty in keeping them alive. Your plants are beautiful....

Rose - your containers are so vivid! Love 'em.

OUTofSPITE - just how many pots DO you have out there? Looking good!

catherinek - aren't you the one who claimed, a month ago, that you were a "rookie gardener"? Well, looks to me like the genes do tell! LOL! Your balcony is looking very nice.

And balconygardener - your vines are causing me some serious envy, especially the mandevilla and passion flower! Oy, what I wouldn't give for some more SUN!

Since I posted my update pics, things have been growing quite well, despite the wind and rain and sunless days! I can barely move around to water. The other day, a datura seedpod got me in the shin - those things are spiky!

Here's the east end, about two weeks ago, on a (lately) rare sunny day in NYC:

PV

PV

Jim

Jim

I saw your plumie sitting up there in the first picture but I am curious what that plant is on the far right edge of the same picture with the plumeria? It looks like something in the sweet pea family (ie., a locust or a mimosa or something - having a long stem with identical-looking leaves, opposite to one another, going down the length of the stem).

It's a wisteria fruticosa "Amythyst Falls", which is supposed to be "more restrained" than an asian wisteria -- true, but it's all relative. It didn't bloom well this year, and had no repeat bloom this summer, so I'm beginning to have doubts about it, particularly with the thunbergia grandiflora right beyond it blooming every day. But I do love the foliage, and I'm trying not to be too impatient with everything, or I'd always be switching out old plants for new ;>).

Meg, I actually do plant directly in the boxes -- I staple heavy-duty garbage bags inside for a liner, with drainage holes slashed at the bottom. It seems to work pretty well so far, but the build quality of the boxes is not great -- some of them are opening up at the corners. Is there nowhere on this planet to get a good, yet cheap, wooden planter?!?

Thanks for the complements, all; it brings a smile to me on a busy day.

Jim

Very nice and good luck with your baby. :-)

I have my bougie inside now. They can be severely pruned as I understand and I think if you keep them under strong lights, after they do a leaf drop (due to a change of conditions), they will resprout new growth and can get back into a growth and bloom cycle again. Some people will keep them in a cool location to go semi-dormant, although they will probably drop leaves in that instance until eventually moved into light and warmth.

I've only had mine since this past March so this will be its first winter for me overwintering under my lights.

I have 2 Chirstmas cactuses budded - the one I sortof dub a "Thanksgiving cactus" because it usually blooms much sooner and looks like it'll be opening flowers in a few weeks. The other still have some time, but the buds are getting a little bigger.

Realms - I think I had mentioned the mandevilla but didn't realize you were talking about the hoyas! LOL I had 4 of them out there for the first time this year. One of them - the H. lacunosa, has been blooming inside quite a bit. The others have yet to bloom. One day. LOL

Here's the lacunosa with alot of blooms on it (a rope hoya is to the far right hanging down lower):

Here's a closer pic of the blooms:

You've done it again! I repotted my lacunosa last year, and it's finally putting out buds again! Maybe some day it will look sorta like yours. Enjoy!

Jim

P.S. Many thanks to GordonHawk for a tour of his fantastic set-up, both inside and out, and a fistful of brugmansia cuttings, which will eventually fill the space left by my R.I.P. bauhinia!

The Lacunosa (also called "mini waxleaf") seemes to prefer more water than the others I have and would wilt alot last year before I got chance to water it. That's probably what triggered it to start blooming (stress... lol). Once it got warm outside and I had a place to hang it, I could water it alot better and now I have a place to hang it inside.

It has a nice wafting fragrance from those blooms in the evening.

Now to get the carnosa and incurvula to bloom. ;-)