Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Fri May 22, 2026 1:51 am Post subject:
Balcony with background sounds.
Recorded on world bee day, though I did not see any bees.
I might extract the audio from the unedited clips and post them as fieldrecordings.
They are all fairly short though and it has some digital artifacts. _________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!" SoundCloudBandCampMixCloudTwitchYouTube The Golden Shrimp Guild Last edited by phobos on Fri May 22, 2026 2:04 am; edited 2 times in total
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Sat May 23, 2026 1:16 pm Post subject:
It probably won't be much longer before the flowers on the Wolfsbane open up.
At the moment they have practically the exact same color as the ones on the Atropa belladonna 'lutea'.
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20260523 - Aconitum vulparia - 09.jpg
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Atropa belladonna 'lutea' flower on the left.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Sat May 23, 2026 1:22 pm Post subject:
I lined a wooden crate with plastic (old potting soil bag) and recreated a section of forest floor.
The moss should regain color over time, or maybe it all dies, we'll see.
I think the ferns are some kind of Asplenium, maybe Asplenium adiantum-nigrum.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Sun May 24, 2026 7:24 am Post subject:
PHOBoS wrote:
I appears that I have unknowingly started a collection of poisonous plants with (pale) yellow flowers.
Here's a closer look at 3 of them
Hyoscyamus albus aka white Henbane, Atropa belladonna 'lutea' aka Deadly Nightshade, and Aconitum vulparia aka Wolfsbane.
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20260524 - balcony - 92.jpg
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Group photo
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Sun May 24, 2026 1:58 pm Post subject:
Cymbalaria muralis is now flowering. I haven't had much luck transplanting these before but this one appears to be very happy.
Interesting titbit about the flowers:
The flower stalk is initially positively phototropic and moves towards the light. After fertilisation, it becomes negatively phototropic ("scototropic")
and moves away from the light. This results in seed capsules being pushed into dark crevices of rock walls, where it is more likely to germinate. wikipedia. This is also how it can climb up along walls and rocky cliffs.
The Opuntia has started growing its 4th section.
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20260524 - Antirrhinum majus - 01.jpg
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this snapdragon survived from last year.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Sun May 31, 2026 11:19 am Post subject:
I have some older photos to sort out but I am temporarily going to jump ahead to today.
I didn't see any bees on World Bee Day but spotted three different kinds of bees today
Two of which I recognize as bumblebees the other appears to be a mining bee but I am not familiar with them enough to be able to identify it.
The Wolfsbane seems to be a favourite (I totally understand and I am not even a bee) but they also like the Henbane, Phacelia, Salvia, Snapdragons, Marigolds and some other plants.
The Solanum dulcamara is starting to produce flowers now and that one usually attracts a lot of attention from (bumble)bees.
20260530 - Andrena x - 01.jpg
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I took the photos of this one yesterday but I spotted it again today
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20260531 - Bombus lapidarius - 01.jpg
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red-tailed bumblebee crawling into a snapdragon flower
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not sure if this counts as NSFW
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20260531 - Bombus terrestris - 02.jpg
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buff-tailed bumblebee checking out the wolfsbane
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 11:43 am Post subject:
some more plants are flowering now,. like the foxglove which of course is a bee favourite.
It's not as big as I thought it might get but a good size for my balcony.
Before the flowers opened they had soft yellow color which made me suspect they might be white but once opened they are pink.
There is another foxglove growing next to it which is a Digitalis purpurea 'foxy' which I started from seed at the end of last year.
It's not a biennial as they usually are and should already flower this year.
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 11:55 am Post subject:
Another one that is flowering is the Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red' aka Foxglove Beardtongue.
The flowers of this one are a lot smaller than the ones of a standard foxglove.
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 12:03 pm Post subject:
Solanum dulcamara reached the ceiling (which is also the floor of the balcony above me) so I had to tie it down.
It's producing more and more flowers now and already has a couple of berries as well.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2026 11:49 am Post subject:
what's going on in the railing planters,..
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The Phacelia is flowering and getting attention from (bumble)bees.
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Bunny Tail grass is coming along nicely, I think the birds have mostly stopped trampling it.
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20260613 - Sedum rupestre - 01.jpg
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The sedum has been growing in this container for many years now and some other stuff found its way in there as well. I mostly just let it be.
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20260613 - herb planter - 01.jpg
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The Thyme and Rosemary do ok in this one but I have not been able to keep any Lavender alive. Found a discounted Moroccan Daisy (Rhodanthemum) so let's see if that one can survive.
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20260613 - Dianthus 'Lucky Lips' - 01.jpg
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I can't really see this one but it appears to be happy. I pruned it back earlier this year and it now has fresh green growth and a couple of flowers. (I think the catnip self seeded in there, rude)
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2026 12:53 pm Post subject:
The mini bucket pond has been upgraded with a 3rd plant; Schizostylis coccinea 'Mrs Hegarty' (crimson flag lily),
and a larger bucket which appears to belong to someone named... Stanley.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2026 1:02 am Post subject:
The first of the large snapdragons are flowering and the colours are definitely not what was on the seed package.
They do combine very well with the Buddleja and Foxglove though and the white flowers on the catnip blend in nicely as well.
The Foxglove now appears to have a branching flower stem. I don't think I've seen that before, only multiple stems.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2026 1:17 pm Post subject:
It's been a while since I updated here.
Summer came early, was very hot and lasted way too long, which as usual resulted in me somewhat shutting down.
Some plants definitely also suffered and I lost a couple, as I always do.
Ok, I should have watered some of them a bit better. The Rosemary, Thyme, Dianthus and Carex could have probably survived.
I did already replace 3 of those a few weeks ago (I couldn't get thyme) so let's just pretend that didn't happen.
Anyway, some plants thrived and I was able to take a couple of photos outside without instantly bursting into flames,
but I first want to skip to now. Is it skipping if it's now ? I guess not.
Now is the time for next years spring bulbs, so we are looking towards the future now, but we're not there yet.
The bulbs were ordered in June (back to the past again) and I received them 2 days ago. Most of them have been planted.
Here's the selection I got, some of which I've grown before, others are a first time.
note: when I mention last year, I mean planted in autumn last year, but they were in bloom at the start of this year
Narcissus 'Arctic Bells' a small, creamy white, early flowering daffodil with cone shaped flowers. First grew these last year and they did very well.
Flowered early and kept going for quite a while. 5 Bulbs per pot was a bit sparse though, so I kept last years bulbs (which appear to have halved in size
but doubled in number) and added new ones. That should bring it to about 15 per pot but I am not sure how well the ones from last year will do.
Iris reticulata 'Alida' 3rd year growing them since I just really like them. They're very pretty, flower early and for me indicate that the start
of the new growing season is approaching. Sadly they don't last very long. This time I am adding some other Irises as well and I picked:
Iris reticulata 'Painted Lady' which have somewhat of a Delft Blue (Delfts Blauw in Dutch) appearance. I think they will combine well with the
'Alida' if they flower at the same time.
Tulipa 'Showwinner' a small red Tulip as an alternative to Tulipa 'Scarlet Baby' which I've grown the previous 2 years. I do really like that one
but I am curious how well this one will do. It should be a little bit taller and I think slightly darker red.
Narcissus 'Jetfire' A small yellow/orange daffodil, the same ones I had last year and they did really well (almost too well).
Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica Also had these last year and they were really nice but got lost between all the daffodils and the tulips.
This time I've planted the daffodils in a row along the edge and the tulips directly in front of those (they're somewhat alternating).
That should leave enough space for these and also for:
Chionodoxa luciliae 'Rose Queen' which I got as a replacement for Scilla bifolia 'Rosea'. Those were a bit underwhelming but also got lost
between the other flowers.
Muscari latifolium I also grew these last year but in the 2 large planters on the floor of my balcony.
They did quite well but I didn't see much of them because of other stuff blocking my view (like the small greenhouse).
This time I've planted them in the top planter so I should be able to get a better view.
Actually, most of the bulbs mentioned so far are all planted together in the top planter, except the Narcissus 'Arctic Bells'.
Note: I did replant the Muscari bulbs from last year in another pot so there might be more showing up.
I am limiting the 2 floor planters to just Daffodils and Tulips, all of them are a first time this year.
In previous years I grew Narcissus 'Anfield', which is a large yellow daffodil, and combined those with pink Tulips.
'Anfield' wasn't available but I wanted white Daffodils this year anyway since I already have yellow ones in the form of Narcissus 'Jetfire'.
For that I choose:
Narcissus 'Thalia' which is a large Daffodil with an almost fully white flower (a bit of yellow on the inside and back).
Those are combined with 2 different Tulips, the first one being:
Tulipa 'Sweetheart' which is a large yellow/white Tulip.
and the other one is:
Tulipa 'Orange Emperor' which is, as the name suggests, a large orange Tulip. I don't think I've had any orange flowering spring bulbs before.
So instead of yellow/pink it'll be white/yellow/orange, a nice sunny but fresh color combo.
(almost) last but not least:
Allium zebdanense I grew these 2 years ago and I really liked them but sadly they were not available at the time of ordering last year.
Instead I opted for 3 other Alliums but that didn't work out very well. They were nice when some eventually flowered but for the most part they were
a nuisance because of all the green leafy bits that took up too much space and kept getting intertwined with other plants.
I ordered one more bulb but it's not really a spring bulb, though it might flower in Spring.
Dracunculus vulgaris aka The Dragon Lily. I am honestly not expecting to have much success with it but it's worth a shot.
Those are (almost) all the new bulbs but there are some bulbs left from last year. I already mentioned Muscari latifolium.
I didn't dig up the Crocuses I planted last year and actually got some more to add since they did so surprisingly well.
I also kept the bulbs of the large Hyacinths and replanted those. We'll have to see if those return, at least the bulbs did still feel firm.
Earlier this year I replanted what I think were the Narcissus 'Jetfire' and Tulipa 'Scarlet Baby' bulbs and put them aside.
I just re-hydrated the soil so I am hoping they come back as well. There might be some other bulbs still in pots with some other plants.
2027 springbulb selection.jpg
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I'm impressed how you can get so much flowering beauty in such a small area.
I never noticed your The Garden series until the server got migrated and the image handling programs got messed up. These pictures are beautiful. Thanks for sharing... _________________ --Howard
my music and other stuff
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 6058 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 728
Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2026 6:14 am Post subject:
Thanks Howard
It is quite challenging, not just because of the small space but also the growing conditions itself, so it involves a lot of trial and error
to figure out what works or, more often than not, doesn't. It can be frustrating but also brings me a lot of joy and I like to share that here.
I hope it can also make people more aware of their surroundings, not just plants but also birds, bees, other insects and just nature in general.
Maybe it will persuade someone to adopt a plant or even better, try to grow something from seed.
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