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??