Black Thumb

Remember the beautiful potted plants I showed you from our balcony?  Given the heat wave we've recently had in NY and title of this post, I think you can see where this post is going...

It's a good thing killing plants isn't illegal -- we'd be serving a double sentence for this!  Actually, we'd be serving many repeating sentences because, though I'm ashamed to admit it, these are not our only casualties.  Far from it.  In fact, I think I've now caused the demise of more plants than I've kept alive.

Out of the three foliage friends featured in this post from May 2012, only the colorful boot plant is still alive {and kicking!}.  The parsley unfortunately didn't survive our escapade through the French countryside, and the flowers in the railing planters did only slightly better last year than they're doing this year... which is not well at all.  Out of 4 railing boxes we currently have planted, 3 look sad if not outright pathetic.

What can I say... I was obviously born with a black thumb!  Shep is usually the plant whisperer of the family but alas it seems my black thumb is even trumping his green one!

Anyone else out there have a black thumb?  Come on, we can't be the only ones with so many sad plants?!

Balcony Gardening

Like most everything in life, living in an urban environment has its pros and cons.  We live in a condo building, and although we sometimes dream about the peace and quiet of a standalone house {e.g., when riding the elevator with nosy neighbors or listening to the "dog parade" out in the hallway as owners take their furry best friends for walks}, for the most part condo living suits us really well.  We both work long hours, are not very handy {though Shep definitely wins the award for most improved in this category!}, and would much rather spend what little free time we do have reading in the park or meeting up with friends, rather than having to worry about cleaning gutters, raking leaves and mowing the lawn.

We are very lucky though to have some private outdoor space in the form of balconies.  And although there are definitely space limitations, we try to "pretty things up" by keeping some colorful potted flowers outside during the warmer months.

Nothing too fancy -- just a few pots of blooming flowers from our local Home Depot -- but it's enough for us!  It's funny how a little splash of color can really improve your mood, isn't it?!

What are YOUR favorite flowers??

Pretty Blooms

Hydrangeas are my favorite flowers, but blue hydrangeas?  Irresistible!  Walking home from work I saw these beautiful blooms at a flower stand and couldn't resist, so I brought them home with me...

Aren't they simply blue-tiful?  :)

What's YOUR favorite flower?  Are you a fan of traditional red roses, colorful carnations, delicate daisies or maybe something more exotic?

Green Thumb

Spring is in the air and the warm sunny weather had us wanting to add some new greenery to our home, inside and out!  I'm not a great plant caretaker - I sadly once all but killed a coworker's prized plant when he left it with me for several months while he was overseas.  I swore it was the lack of light at my desk but it might have been the sparkling water I was using because the little thing perked right back up soon after I passed it on to another colleague who sat right near me.  In the spirit of "getting back on the horse", I decided to try my hand at plants again.

I got this little parsley plant from my company for Earth Day.  It definitely looks less green now than it does the day I brought it home (boo!), but it's also grown a lot since then (yay!) so I guess I'm not doing that bad  of a job with it...

This is a really cute boot pot we received for our engagement party several years ago (thanks Aunt Beth, Uncle Chick & Maggie!)... now it finally has some fresh dirt and a houseplant in it!

The boot also came with a matching watering can!  We had these cheery items out for display in our old apartment (sans the plant inside) so it's fun to finally see the boot actually fulfilling its plant-holder destiny in our new apartment.  :)  I just love this set, and it looks great on our built-in shelves near the dining room table and balcony door!

But that's not all!  We also planted some marigolds outside in the baskets attached to our balcony:

According to the flower expert: "Marigolds can grow in full sun to partial-shade, but it is preferable to plant them in sunny locations as shading may have an adverse effect on flowering.".  We get very bright morning light, which turns to shade during the latter part of the afternoon as the sun settles behind our building.  Hopefully the morning and early afternoon sun will be enough to keep these little buds blooming!

There you have it... our new little green friends.  Wish us luck keeping them alive and growing!  ;)