The Garden

[PHOBoS]

before starting with this year I still have a couple of photos from last year.

Cyclamen started much earlier than I expected and I didn't see much of it.
I am pretty sure it's dead now but I'll dig it up to see if there is any life left in it.
(might be some seeds in there too)

Solanum dulcamara (climbing nightshade) did something I've never seen before.
It's some kind of dense growth that I first thought might develop into flowers but nope, it just stayed like that.
Kinda resembles weed (the good stuff not unwanted plants) but I don't think it would be wise to consume any of it,
the whole plant being toxic and all. I also wondered if some other plant had worked it's way in there but no, it really
was the nightshade doing that. I have no idea what caused it and the plant just grew like normal otherwise.
I wonder if it'll do the same thing again this year.

Leonotis leonurus was one that stayed pretty small for a while until at some point it just started to grow like mad and
produced really nice orange flowers. It easily surpassed the lilies in height. It is a perennial, can even stay green
in the right climate but I don't think it survived. I did harvest plenty of seeds from it so I will try growing it again anyway.

Lilium 'Mister Pistache' didn't get as tall and impressive as the 'Golden Splendour' but did produce some nice large flowers.

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[PHOBoS]

PLAN(t)S FOR THIS YEAR


As often a lot of plants have died,. more than usual I think. It's always rather depressing and I want to end up with more plants at the beginning of the year not less.
It's not all bad though and some things survived that I didn't have before.

The Lilies all seem to have survived and have already started to produce some new shoots. I don't expect them to do as well as last year since they were probably
treated much better at the nursery than on my balcony but we'll see. Last year I had them in the planters at the edge of my balcony and although they seem to enjoy it
it wasn't very practical. Since they tend to grow towards the light it took quite a bit of effort to get them to grow straight and stay on the inside of my balcony and I also
had to guide them around the planter with the strawberries. This year I am going to switch them around with the peppers for which I got new containers last year.
That means that each bulb will be in its own container which makes it much easier to move and rotate. Because it might get a bit top heavy I made holes in the rim
of each container to tie them together or attach them to something else. They're currently on top of one of the tables until I have cleared out some other stuff.

The Tiger lilies didn't do so well last year, they grew but I don't remember actually seeing any flowers, maybe I was too distracted by the other lilies.
There are some new shoots but not as many as last year around this time. Could be because I kept them in the shade longer but the soil is probably a bit depleted
as well. Maybe I should dig them up to see what's going on but the first ones to appear are usually the newer smaller bulbs and I don't want to disturb them.

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[PHOBoS]

With the lilies in the containers I used for the peppers I can place the peppers in the containers at the edge of my balcony.
It's always a bit difficult to take care of anything growing in there once other plants (mostly peppers) are blocking access to it.
Luckily pepper plants usually don't require a lot of care besides some watering and occasional fertilizer, they don't get very tall (at least not on my balcony)
just want a lot of sun and this is the spot that gets the most direct sun. I might still place some pepper plants in containers as well.

This year I am sticking to tried and tested varieties. I'd love to have more variation and have some really hot ones but most of the time
I just end up with a lot of green and no peppers. They don't get enough sun on my balcony and if they do flower it's often too late in the year.
An exception to this has been the 'Fresno' variety which I have been growing for a couple of years and produces peppers every time.
It's also a very tasty one that isn't extremely hot but isn't mild either. Similar to a Jalapeno but a bit hotter and great for daily use.

Another one that does alright, though less productive, is 'Habanero lemon' but for some reason it seems to has lost most of its heat over the years.
I also had some success with Jalapenos before and I found some purple tiger seeds from a couple of years ago which I think did ok as well.
They must have produces some peppers otherwise I wouldn't have had these seeds.

Because there is most likely some cross pollination happening on my balcony there might be some differences between peppers over the years.
This is probably also why the Habeneros seem to have lost their heat. I always try to harvest seeds whenever possible and because I generally
don't throw them out I have seeds from several years. As an experiment I am trying seeds from different years to see if there is noticeable difference.

this years list:
- Fresno 2023
- Fresno 2022
- Fresno 20xx (apparently didn't label these but there are a lot of seeds so might be able to track it down by looking at some photos)
- Habanero 'lemon' 2022
- Habanero 'lemon' 20xx (also unlabeled and very likely from the same year as those Fresno seeds)
- Jalapeno 2019
- Early Jalapeno (the only ones I didn't harvest myself, not sure yet what year I bought them but should be able to figure that out)
- Purple Tiger (surprisingly unlabeled as well, most of the time I do really add the year but I think I only grew these once)

currently there are already 36 seedlings in my incubator which is way more than I need. I do have more than 1 in a single pot though
so will have to remove some of them anyway, which I find really hard to do . The 'Purple Tiger' ones germinated a bit later than the rest
and are noticeably smaller. One of them appears to be an albino which will probably die if it can't photosynthesize.

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[PHOBoS]

Some other plants that managed to stay alive:
Solanum dulcamara (climbing nightshade) still going strong and already has a lot of new growth.
Pulmonaria (lungwort) that's growing in the same pot is already in bloom. There is also a Helleborus in there but that one
appears to be struggling a bit. The nightshade is likely taking up a lot of root space and with that a lot of the nutrients.

Strawberries are showing some new growth. I am quite happy with those, they didn't produce an awful lot but I didn't
expect them to and it was nice to occasionally be able to pick a fresh strawberry directly of the plants.

Nepeta cataria (catnip) survived. It's a bit pinkish now and probably wasn't too happy with hanging on the outside of my
balcony during winter but I am pretty sure it'll do alright. Did sprinkle some fresh seeds in the pot just in case.

Aruncus aethusifolius (Dwarf Goat's Beard) might be the only plant of the ones I ordered last year that survived.
Apart from some sempervivums and I think one or two of the sedums made it out alive too.

The Ivy is doing ok and I am pretty sure the Lamium (dead-nettle) that's growing in the same container is still alive as well
but that's about it I think.


edit: oh and at least 1 of the 3 henbane plants is still alive, hope they all are but we'll see. They were supposed to be annuals
so I am surprised they survived this long already. Did add some fresh seeds but it may not be cold enough for those to germinate.

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[PHOBoS]

Since I have some extra space free in my incubator I decided to try some other seeds that I still had.
It might be too warm for some but others might benefit from it.
- Digitalis Lutea perennial foxglove
- Datura stramonium 'Tatula' I've tried growing them a couple of times, so far without any luck so maybe this will work.
- Antirrhinum Majus 'Sonnet white' white snapdragons, have started to germinate
- Corydalis Sempervirens Rock harlequin, requires cold temperatures so not expecting much.
- Coleus still had plenty of seeds from these and too many have germinated already.

I also ordered new seeds (probably won't use all of them this year):
- Antirrhinum/Snapdragons. I grew snapdragons for the first time in 2017 and I really liked them. I am pretty sure they were supposed
to be annual but kept growing back each year, at least until last year. There was only one plant left and it did have some nice new
growth early in the year. Because this first growth is always very thin with small leaves I cut it back and it didn't recover from that.
I did try growing the white ones last year but although the seeds germinated I didn't get very far with those. The seedlings stay very
small for quite a while which makes it hard to take care of.

I ordered some new snapdragon seeds from the same store that I got the original seeds from, hoping they will be the same variety.
They are labeled as being tall (80cm) which indeed they were. From the same store I also ordered a semi-tall variety (50cm).
Both of them have a mix of colors so if I do manage to get them to flower that will be a surprise.
I also got some more snapdragon seeds from another place, labeled as being 60cm tall, annual and also a mix of colors.
The white ones I still had are labeled as 30cm so small ones. I am really hoping for some snapdragons this year.


- Phacelia tanacetifolia an annual that started as a 'weed' on my balcony in 2017 and I have been growing since from the seeds that I collect. Bees love it!
Still had some seeds left but not a lot so I ordered some new ones just in case.

- Viola odorata aka sweet violet. I've had one since I found it at the side of the road in 2018 and although it did very well until early on last year I don't think
it survived, though it may have self-seeded. It's one of the very few plants that always seemed to do ok in that very shady spot on my balcony and the first to
flower each year. I am hoping I can grow some more in that same spot but they should be sown in autumn so I'll have to wait a bit longer.

- Thunbergia alata better known as Black-eyed Susan Vine. Have thought about growing these before but never actually got around doing it.

- Cosmos bipinnatus Rubenza, a red cosmos variety. I still have some seeds from the orange variety as well.

- Helianthus annuus, sunflower mix with red/orange/yellow flowers. I have been growing sunflowers the past 2 (or is it 3) years and they do great.
I grow them in a spot that gets a lot of sun (relatively) on the corner of my balcony where I can't really place anything else anyway.

- Tithonia rotundifolia aka mexican sunflower. Smaller than regular sunflowers but with very showy bright red/orange flowers.
Should bloom around the same time as the yellow 'Golden Splendour' lillies.

- Tagetes tenuifolia lemon, a marigold with lot's of small yellow flowers. (I am really leaning heavy into the red/orange/yellow this year)

- Lupinus hartwegii mix, annual Lupine in shades of pink/white/blue. some seeds have already germinated using the wet tissue paper method.
(though I use coffee filters as that works much better IMO because it doesn't tear so easily and the roots don't get stuck in them).

- Calamintha nepeta didn't have success growing it from seed last year so got it as a plant and I really liked it. It did great until it suddenly didn't.
not sure why but it just wilted away. I'll try growing from seeds again first but might just order a plant again at a later thyme.

- Collinsia heterophylla bicolor aka chinese houses, an annual plant with purple & white flowers that might do well in a more shady area.

- Mandragora officinarum aka Mandrake. After many years of trying I still haven't gotten further than just a couple of leaves but I will try again.
(I did find someone selling small 3 year old plants online for a fairly reasonable price, so I might end up doing that)

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[PHOBoS]

The bees (or at least pupa) have been chilling in my fridge. This is the first time I am trying this and I have no idea how many, are still alive
but they look ok to me. I am surprised at the amount, only a couple of the tubes where filled but it's still around 80 of them.
note: the photo was taken shortly after cleaning, I am not trying to germinate them onto wet tissue paper.

I was planning to keep them in there a little longer until the temperatures are a higher and more consistent and there are some more flowers
but I noticed last night that not only had the first ones started to emerge but they were active as well. No use keeping them any longer in my
fridge now so I placed them outside this morning. I am using a small cardboard (tea) box with 2 holes cut out of it as an emergence box.
Too bad the temperatures dropped a bit again but I guess that does give them a nice transition from my fridge and might keep some from
hatching a little bit longer.

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[PHOBoS]

I got a new old birdhouse for my balcony. I already had a cheap one that was mostly there for show but this one
is made from much thicker and better wood. It's not in the best condition but still pretty sturdy and should be able
to last quite a while on my balcony out of the rain. I did reduce the opening to 28mm to make it more suitable for
blue tits and also reinforced it with a piece of thin aluminium. This is to prevent birds from pecking away at the
opening of which you can see the result on the cheap bird house in the first photo (top left corner).

Shorty after mounting it on my balcony it caught the attention of a pair of blue tits that have become regular
visitors. They're also the reason that made me think of getting a better birdhouse in the first place. I did see
one of them fly inside a couple of times but most of the time it said on the outside and was still trying to peck
away at the opening. I had noticed some strings of moss on my balcony, which they use for nest building, but
never actually caught one taking it inside. They mostly just come around to feed, sometimes stick around for
a bit and then leave again.

until today,. I just saw one going inside while holding tiny feathers in its beak so it's likely buidling a nest in there.
I just hope they won't be too disturbed by me being active on my balcony.

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[PHOBoS]

Made an alpine planter over the weekend and filled it up with Sempervivums, newly acquired Saxifrage (2 different varieties) and some sedums.
Now that they are no longer hanging on the outside of my balcony I can actually see them. They will get less sun this way but they're still
in a fairly sunny spot and it also keeps them out of the rain. I am curious how this will look in a year from now, some plants will probably die
but hopefully the ones that survive will fill up the empty spaces and it will become a dense carpet over time. There are still 2 empty pots
that will probably be filled with more sedum

This has made a planter available that's hanging from the railing and I am thinking of putting something in it that has a bit of height (so I can
see it) and is tolerant to full sun and dry conditions as it gets a bit difficult to take care of in summer. Lavender might be suitable but I never
had much luck growing that yet. Thyme could also be a suitable candidate, and I do like the taste of it but I have another pot that I might use
for that.

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[PHOBoS]

When I bought the wood for the alpine planter I also got a couple more plants.
- Saxifraga arendsii , had one last year but apparently it did need a bit more water than I thought.
- Saxifraga paniculata which has white spots on the edges of the leaves (it's all that green stuff in the corner of the alpine planter)
- a Sedum that I don't know the variety of yet. edit: I think it might be Sedum sexangulare.
- Dryopteris affinis, a fern with semi glossy leaves.
- Digitalis x mertonensis, a foxglove. The ones I've grown before are likely Digitalis purpurea and this one does have different leaves.
I think the flowers on this one have a bit more of a classic appearance. By the looks of it it might produce 3 flower stalks or maybe
there are actually 3 plants in a pot (will find that out once I repot it)
- Pulsatilla vulgaris, Pasque Flower (in dutch its called 'Wildemanskruid' which translates to 'Wild man's herb'). I already had it on my
mind that I wanted one of these and they had it available at the store. I was able to find one that still had a couple of closed flower buds
as they do flower early in the year. and it's a mix of 3 plants

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[PHOBoS]

9/10 lupine seeds sprouted, I started them inside on a windowsill after soaking them in warm water for about 20 hours.
They are now outside in a small greenhouse so they can get a bit more light

Phacelia tanacetifolia is starting to sprout. I didn't do anything special with this as it seems to grow very easily,
just sown directly into a container outside.

I think 2 of the strawberry plants didn't survive but that's ok. There are still 4 left and they do propagate through runners
which I mostly cut off last year.

Some of the lillies are already starting to pick up speed. two of the bulbs don't show any growth above ground yet and
some bulbs have multiple shoots. I might place multiple bulbs in single pot next year like I do with the Tiger Lillies.

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[PHOBoS]

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[PHOBoS]

I kept the peppers a bit too long in the incubator with the cover on and the soil didn't dry out fast enough. Not a problem by itself
but the medium/soil they are planted in is a mix containing mostly coco coir which doesn't have any nutrients. Usually I use
a liquid feed when I water them but because I didn't have to water them yet they got a bit hungry and started to turn yellow.
Now that they have been re-potted into better soil and had something extra to eat they are quickly starting to catch up.

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[PHOBoS]

Two plants that I am not sure I've shown before but might have made an appearance in the background on some photos.

one of them is a cactus (opuntia) that I found on the street a couple years ago (2022 ?). It was a section that had broken of from
a much bigger cactus that is growing in someones front garden and is always full of flowers in late spring. The nice thing about this
one is that it appears to be a very hardy perennial so can just stay outside.
I placed it in a pot and occasionally gave it some water but was never sure if it had developed any roots though it did appear to be
doing ok. It is now developing what I think might be a flower bud or maybe it's starting to grow another section. At least I now know
for sure that it is doing ok and that it likely has developed new roots.

The other plant is a succulent (Anacampseros Rufescens Varigata) that turns red/pink in the sun. It could use a bigger pot but then
I'd have to find a new location for it and it seems to be quite happy where it is.

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[PHOBoS]

Phacelia tanacetifolia is starting to take off and will probably flower within a couple of weeks.
They do tend to get a bit floppy when they get bigger so I've repurposed the hanging baskets as plant supports.
It might look a bit odd right now but maybe it will help keeping them look a bit more tidy, especially since they
are now on the outside of my balcony and more exposed to the wind.

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20240408 - balcony - 04.jpg
Description:	seedlings are starting to take over
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[PHOBoS]

I got some more seeds but will definitely not be growing all of them this year.

- Coleus solenostemon "Wizard Black Dragon"
The name alone would already be enough to get them but they also look really nice.
The leaves are very dark red, almost black, with a brighter red center.
I think they will contrast nicely to break up the usual 'sea of green' but I already have
more than enough Coleus seedlings right now so will save these for next year

- Atropa belladonna
I already had seeds from Belladonna "lutea" and Atropa komarovii (Turkmenistan Belladonna)
(just sown those + mandrake seeds during the eclipse) but I think this is the more common Belladonna variety.
Will be saving these for next year too or might sow them in autumn outside.

- Datura metel "Ballerina mix"
Not sure if the mix is guaranteed to have all 3 different varieties that are available but if so they should be
purple, yellow and white double flowered Daturas. I already had purple ones which I didn't have a lot of luck with
in previous years but this year 2 of the seeds sprouted and they are currently keeping the peppers company.

- Nicandra physalodes "Alba"
I've been growing Nicandra physalodes for many years but it does get very large so haven't done so in the
last couple of years. This however is a white variety and although I might not be growing it any time soon
it happened to be on sale and at the very least I can add it to my 'collection' of nightshade seeds.

- Borago officinalis "Alba"
These are actually the seeds I was looking for in the first place. Since two of the strawberry plants are probably dead
there is some space available. Apparently Borage is an excellent companion plant for strawberries and it attracts pollinators.
It's also a perennial and it could get quite large but the growing conditions on my balcony are far from ideal which keeps
most plants pretty small. This is a white variety instead of the more common blue one.

- Primula elatior
Looks similar to Primula veris (which I haven't had any success with yet) but the flowers are a little bit different.
I'll try to sow these in autumn this time and leave them outside to see if that works better.

- Helianthus annuus Procut "Peach"
More sunflower seeds but these should have very light yellow/peach colored petals which could look really nice in
combination with the foxgloves I got. I doubt they will flower around the same time though.

- Ipomoea purpurea "Venice Pink"
Hadn't seen this variety of Morning glories before. It is similar in appearance to the "flying saucers" variety,
which has blue/white striped flowers, but these are pink/white. I might combine them both if I still have some
"flying Saucers" seeds left.

- Tagetes patula "Disco Red"
marigolds with an open center and single petals in a warm red color.

- Gazania splendens "New Tiger"
small annual plants with large pretty flowers.

- Scorpiurus muricatus "Prickly Caterpillar"
weird little plant with spiraling seed pods that resemble caterpillars. I've sown them in a pot together
with the Nigella orientalis "Transformer" since that one is also a bit odd looking and I think they will
combine nicely.

[PHOBoS]

[PHOBoS]

[PHOBoS]

The peach colored sunflower seedlings are growing a lot faster then I was expecting (and compared to the other sunflowers).
I've sown them on the 6th, I think the first one sprouted on the 9th shortly followed by the second one and when I picked them
up on the 11th I noticed they already had their roots dangling below the pot.
Since they grow so fast I transplanted the biggest one directly outside to where I want it to be and the other one to a larger pot.
(I'll keep that as a backup for now)

The peppers plants are starting to look a lot better now that they have some proper soil and get liquid feed.

Scorpius muricatus seeds have started to sprout and the seedlings already look unusual.

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20240411 - Helianthus annuus Procut 'Peach' - 01.jpg
Description:	the root of the left one was almost twice as long but it was damaged a bit and broke off
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20240417 - peppers - 07.jpg
Description:	also 2 pots with mexican sunflowers which replaced the daturas that I transplanted and are now outside keeping the henbane company.
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20240416 - Scorpius muricatus - 01.jpg
Description:	tentacles ?
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[PHOBoS]

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20240415 - Dahlia - 03.jpg
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20240415 - Dahlia - 04.jpg
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20240415 - balcony - 05.jpg
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[PHOBoS]

sadly the blue tit chicks didn't make it, might be because it got quite cold at night recently.
I noticed something was wrong saturday evening and opened up the birdhouse tuesday morning.
It doesn't have a convenient hatch so you have to undo 3 screws and take out the bottom.
Inside I found a very thick layer of moss with a lovely little nest inside and inside that I found
9 nestlings that were bereft of life and an unhatched egg. I placed the egg in the bird feeder
where it was quickly discovered by what I believe was a jackdaw. I did consider putting the chicks
in there too, crows would love it, but I am not sure how the other small birds would feel about that.

I did place the nest back inside the birdhouse for now (after emptying it of course) as it looked pristine
and I noticed a pair of blue tits around on my balcony again that might want to reuse it. Can't tell if it is
the same pair but it is likely.


while on the subject of birds I can add another one to the list of balcony visitors; a eurasian sparrow hawk.
I am not even sure If I've ever seen one before let alone on my balcony. I had just set up a webcam so I could
easily keep an eye on my balcony while being inside and was watching some sparrows when all of a sudden one of
them flew straight towards the camera and bumped against the window (camera is inside behind the window).
When I turned my head to look out the window to see what was going on I saw the sparrow hawk sitting on the railing.
Sadly it was not in view of the webcam so I don't have any footage of it (also wasn't recording). I did quickly grab
my photo camera but it focused on the plant inside instead of the bird outside so I only have a couple of blurry photos.

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20240424 - Accipiter nisus - 02.jpg
Description:	it's not bigfoot
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[PHOBoS]

In the meantime I also received a lot of plants that I ordered but things didn't really go as planned (plant ?).
To make a long story short I placed a second order at a different shop because I didn't have much trust in the first one
I placed. Did eventually receive both (- 1 plant from the first order) so now I have twice the amount of what I
originally had in mind. Glad I did though because the plants I received from the second order are in much
better condition than the first one and I am also not entirely sure if I received all the correct plants. At least one of
them is wrong even though the label is correct (it was also dry and wilted).

I did try to get the same plants for both orders where possible but there are some differences.
Either because it wasn't available or because I liked something else better.
anyway, here's the full list:
Waldsteinia ternata [1][2]
Persicaria affinis 'Darjeeling Red' [1]
Aquilegia flabellata 'Ministar' (perennial dwarf variety) [1]
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Purple Pixie' [1]
Epimedium 'Flowers of Sulphur' [2]
Eryngium planum 'Blue Hobbit' (dwarf variety) [1]
Eryngium planum 'Grumpy' [2]
Calamintha grandiflora [1][2] plant I received from the first order is some kind of other mint
Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' (dwarf Hosta ) [1][2]
Viola sororia 'Freckles' [1] didn't receive this one
Viola sororia 'Dark Freckles' [2]
Delosperma 'Jewels Mix' [1]
Delosperma 'Jewel of Desert Moonstone' [2]
Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum' [1] looks really poor and I am not sure if it is the correct one
Sedum floriferum 'Weihenstephaner Gold' [1]
Sedum pachyclados [2]
Leontopodium alpinum [2] (Edelweiss!)
Lewisia cotyledon 'Rainbow' [1] label says 'Sunset' instead of 'Rainbow'
Cyclamen hederifolium 'Album' [2]
Helleborus orientalis 'Yellow' [2]
Lamium maculatum 'Roseum' [2]
[1] = first order, [2] = second order

I gave 3 plants away:
- Eryngium planum 'Grumpy'
- Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears'
- Calamintha grandiflora (the one that is not a Calamint)

Most of the rest has already been transplanted apart from the two Delosperma plants and the Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum'.

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20240419 - plantorder - 04.jpg
Description:	plants from first order
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20240417 - plantorder - 02.jpg
Description:	plants from second order (received earlier)
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20240421 - Epimedium - 01.jpg
Description:	comparison between the Epimedium plants from both orders [2] on the left, [1] on the right, they are different varieties though.
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[PHOBoS]

Sedum pachyclados and Lewisia cotyledon 'sunset' have been transplanted to the 2 unused pots in the alpine planter.
I might have enough room left to place the Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum' in it as well.

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20240421 - Alpine planter - 11.jpg
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20240417 - Sedum pachyclados - 02.jpg
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[PHOBoS]

I got the Waldsteinia ternata and Lamium maculatum 'Roseum' to have something for the planter that's hanging against the wall.
Apart from the Ivy and a tiny bit of Lamium galeobdolon 'Herman's Pride' there isn't anything growing in it anymore. It hardly gets
any sun besides a bit of afternoon sun in summer and the soil can get pretty dry at times.
Both plants should do well in those conditions though the other lamium did struggle a bit, we'll see.

It actually worked out great that I have two Waldsteinia ternata plants so it can grow from both directions at once to cover the surface.
The Lamium looked etiolated and was definitely a bit too tall so I made cuttings to spread out over the planter at a later time.
I did place the rest of the plant already in it and pinned down two of the shoots to try and root it that way as well. I will probably cut
the other 2 shoots off once it's established.

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20240419 - Lamium maculatum 'Roseum' - 01.jpg
Description:	lamium pre-surgery
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20240419 - Lamium maculatum 'Roseum' - 02.jpg
Description:	I think this 'test tube' set is >30 years old and the rooting hormone powder might be older than me.
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20240419 - Lamium maculatum 'Roseum' - 03.jpg
Description:	5 cuttings placed in wet perlite, let's see if they will root in there
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20240424 - wall planter - 01.jpg
Description:	Waldsteinia ternata on both sides and lamium in the center. I also mixed in some dry chicken manure pellets while I had the chance
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[PHOBoS]

One thing I am trying to do a bit different this year is planting a couple of different plants in a single large pot
instead of having a lot of smaller pots with a single plant each. It's more space efficient and probably easier to
take care of as well.

I gave the large (30cm) terracotta pot a better use by creating a woodland planter using hardy perennial shade plants.
Up until now it had been tucked away in the most shady corner of my balcony with the hazel* tree in it as a placeholder.
Which is a shame because it is a really nice pot and has the same floral markings on the rim as some of the smaller
terracotta pots I have. I placed the dwarf Hosta ('Blue Mouse ears') in the center and surrounded it with the
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Purple Pixie', Persicaria affinis 'Darjeeling Red', Viola sororia 'Dark Freckles' and Aquilegia flabellata 'Ministar'.

All of those should do well in partial shade and don't get very large, about 5~15cm for most of them.
The Epimedium might get up to 30cm but it's not a dense plant. I made a top dressing of wood chips, sand, a bit of gravel
and some moss (mainly around the plants). All of these are ground covering plants but I don't know which will be the most vigorously
growing one. There is also the possibility that I'll kill them all but I think they have a higher chance of surviving in this larger pot.


* I think it died, but I transplanted it to a smaller pot just in case.

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20240421 - large woodland pot - 01.jpg
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20240424 - large woodland pot - 02.jpg
Description:	catching some sunrays
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[PHOBoS]

I also made a 'deep shade' pot for in the shady corner that was previously occupied by the large terracotta pot.
Initially I just started with placing the yellow hellebore in a suitable pot but after I had done that I got the idea that the
cyclamen might be a really good companion for it. Both of them enjoy a shady spot and both go dormant in summer.
I think they also look really nice together right now though it probably won't be long until the cyclamen will lose it's pretty
mandelbrot leaves and the hellebore will also start to look a bit shabby. But that's ok as now is not their time to shine.

However, in autumn when everything else starts to die off the cyclamen should start to grow again. First with some pretty
white flowers, followed by new leaves and with a bit of luck the hellebore will take over in winter with large yellow flowers
and fresh green foliage. That does mean that there isn't anything happening in that pot during the rest of the year, which
isn't a bad thing, but it did get me thinking if I had anything else I could put in there,..

Well, as it turns out I do actually have another plant that apparently also does well in shade and can flower from spring until
autumn; a Fuchsia. I wasn't sure where to place it yet anyway and I think the foliage also works well with the other two plants.
Ideally these plants should get a bit of morning sun and shade during the day, not afternoon sun but we'll see how it works out.
I think in the summer it could get too hot and sunny in the afternoon but by that time there should be other plants growing
in front of it that provide a bit of extra shade. it's also a pot inside another pot which should add a bit of extra insulation against
the heat.

It's all a big experiment trying to find the right plants to grow under less than ideal conditions.

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20240421 - deep shade pot - 01.jpg
Description:	excuse the filthy carpet
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20240421 - deep shade pot - 02.jpg
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20240424 - deep shade pot - 03.jpg
Description:	added a temporary wire to protect the cyclamen leaves a bit against birds
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