Having nothing better to write about on this not-terribly-nice day, I thought I'd provide a little tour of my now thoroughly be-planted balcony. We went with a purple and yellow theme this year, with a touch of white. To start with we have this purple plant with little flowers (most of which aren't blooming at present.
Next up are two planters full of marigolds which live on a bench.
On the far side of the bench we have a big pot of pansies.
And then next to them a table with some snapdragons (which aren't really in focus--sorry!).
Then comes the storage container with its smaller pot of pansies.
And between our balcony and the neighbors we have this little planter full of white flowers. I love these (and various other small wildflowery plants) but they call for full sun so we can only put them in the one place.
Then we have another bench standing on the storage container. The aloe goes on the right side of the bench but it's inside at the moment and on the left side of the bench we have a geranium.
Here is Pyramus hanging out. He used to be a street cat and still loves to chill outside whenever he gets a chance. He demanded I take a break from photographing flowers and provide him with a lap to sit on though.
And then we have the jasmine, which has been trying to die for over a year now. It's the only plant other than the aloe that we bother to bring inside for the winter and the cats love nothing better than to eat it and then throw up translucent green liquid and partially masticated leaves. Wendy keeps watering the poor thing but I doubt it'll ever be healthy again.
And that was a kind of depressing note to end on. Oh well.
Next up are two planters full of marigolds which live on a bench.
On the far side of the bench we have a big pot of pansies. 
And then next to them a table with some snapdragons (which aren't really in focus--sorry!).
Then comes the storage container with its smaller pot of pansies.
And between our balcony and the neighbors we have this little planter full of white flowers. I love these (and various other small wildflowery plants) but they call for full sun so we can only put them in the one place. 
Then we have another bench standing on the storage container. The aloe goes on the right side of the bench but it's inside at the moment and on the left side of the bench we have a geranium.
Here is Pyramus hanging out. He used to be a street cat and still loves to chill outside whenever he gets a chance. He demanded I take a break from photographing flowers and provide him with a lap to sit on though. 
And then we have the jasmine, which has been trying to die for over a year now. It's the only plant other than the aloe that we bother to bring inside for the winter and the cats love nothing better than to eat it and then throw up translucent green liquid and partially masticated leaves. Wendy keeps watering the poor thing but I doubt it'll ever be healthy again.
And that was a kind of depressing note to end on. Oh well.
And here we have the cats enjoying the sun and supervising while I clean the storage container and Wendy pots the new plants. Those looks of utter disdain are for the harnesses and leashes we make them wear on the balcony. They don't seem to buy the argument that we're saving them from becoming high-rise cats. Can't imagine why.
And, finally, the springified balcony (not in very sharp focus, I'm afraid).
Although our aloe is still waiting for it to get warm enough that it can join the other plants in the fresh air.
