Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2025 11:40 am Post subject:
a couple more photos
20250418 - Fuchsia - 01.jpg
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I got 2 Fuchsias for in the deep shade corner where hardly anything else seems to survive There is still a cyclamen growing in that pot as well but even that one struggles.
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20250418 - Erysimum linifolium - 03.jpg
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The Erysimum linifolium which I got last year did not only survive but is also flowering now.
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20250418 - Erysimum linifolium - 04.jpg
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20250418 - alpine gutter - 01.jpg
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a bit more of the sedum has survived in here than I thought, I love these mini worlds.
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20250411 - Osmia cornuta - 08.jpg
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bees!, not a lot but happy to see at least some return
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2025 1:51 pm Post subject:
It's a solar powered garden light.
One of the first ones I've ever bought and also one of the few that's still working.
I did replace the (rechargeable) battery a couple times, removed some corrosion and re-polished the solar panel.
I've had a bunch of other ones that usually don't last very long although I have been able to frankenstein some into working ones.
I also have some hanging glass ones in several colors that look more bulb shaped, they do actually work pretty well but I gave those
a bit of an upgrade.
They generally don't give off much light, they're more like lit objects, but this year I got some new ones that do actually give off
a surprising amount of light. They're the small white bulbs visible in this photo (there are 3 of those along the edge of my balcony)
I'll try to make an evening photo when we have some sunny days and they're charged up again.
(no monkeys btw, just some horrific looking gnomes)
20250424 - solar garden lights - 01.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2025 4:23 am Post subject:
blue hell wrote:
Thought it it to be be something with water btw .. the light
There will be a solar powered water feature added to my balcony later on (if it still works).
I tested it last year but didn't really have a good spot for it, I had it out for most of the summer though.
This year I reserved a spot for it so it will be a bit hidden between the plants.
you can have a sneak peek here:
I do have a bit of standing water on my balcony already at the moment. Willows like to have their feet wet so I wanted to add
a saucer under the pot (also for stability since it's resting on another pot) and after looking around a bit I found an old frying pan
in one of my cupboards that had the right size. I keep filling it up with water every now and then and I placed a large pot shard
in it so insects have access to it and can climb out if needed.
20240610 - hookah water feature - 01.jpg
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20250405 - Frying Saucer - 01.jpg
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20250425 - Frying Saucer - 02.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2025 9:34 am Post subject:
It has a small electric pump powered by a solar panel (connected with a cable).
Initially it started out as a recirculating bird bath but that wasn't very practical and I don't think the birds ever made much use of it if any.
The hookah idea came later in a puff of smoke. I got the thing as a gift years ago but never used it and according to my calculations it should
work in reverse as a water feature. I did have to plug one hole and add a couple of O-rings for better waterproofing but other than that
it works great. It's very cheaply build though and I did notice some rust when I took it apart at the end of last year, but that was to be expected
because it is of course not meant to be used like this.
In the video it does indeed only trickle down in a single stream but when there is more sun the saucer at the top overflows on all sides
and the water runs down over the hookah itself. It's also practically silent when it does that.
20240525 - recirculating bird bath - 01.jpg
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20240525 - recirculating bird bath - 02.jpg
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20240526 - recirculating bird bath - 04.jpg
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there's a hole in the center that the water comes out of and when it flows over the edge it gets collected in the white bucket and recirculated.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sat May 10, 2025 12:56 pm Post subject:
haven't killed any Sedum yet sofar, it's actually growing pretty well.
I am using the one in the hanging planter more or less as an indicator for when to water them.
20250430 - sedums - 03.jpg
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it has grown and spread out a bit
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20250504 - photobox planter - 03.jpg
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The one in the photobox planter is looking especially nice. Also the Leontopodium (Edelweis) is starting to produce flowers.
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20250504 - photobox planter - 01.jpg
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20250504 - Erysimum linifolium - 06.jpg
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this one is also doing great and might keep flowering well into the summer
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2025 1:14 pm Post subject:
so many flowers
(hardly any interested insects though)
20250504 - hanging planter - 09.jpg
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I am happy to see that the Geranium robertianum (Herb-robert) with its pink flowers is finding its way through everything. Tall one on the left side is Nepeta Cataria, aka Catnip
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20250510 - hanging planter - 10.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Thu May 15, 2025 4:14 pm Post subject:
First flower on the Leontopodium alpinum is starting to open up. I do like these fuzzy flowers that almost look like they're made out of felt.
It is being attacked by some leaf miner insect again, as was the one I had last year. I've tried to remove all the affected leaves and will keep
an eye on it. I don't mind if they want to snack a bit but last year they didn't leave much of the plant intact. It's also supporting an aphid
colony but you'll find those on a lot of plants around this time of the year and I am not too worried about those (yet).
20250515 - Leontopodium alpinum - 02.jpg
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20250515 - Leontopodium alpinum - 03.jpg
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20250515 - Leontopodium alpinum - 04.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Thu May 15, 2025 4:34 pm Post subject:
I made a different support for the Opuntia. I was using some sticks to keep it upright but that was more of a temporary thing until it got rooted.
It won't fall over now without any support but it's leaning a bit and it has decided to grow another section on top which could exacerbate the situation.
The copper looks very new and shiny at the moment but once it has developed a bit of a patina it should stand out less.
The section it grew last year did get somewhat etiolated because I didn't have a suitable sunny spot for it. I guess it'll become part of its life story
just as the scarring on the first section because I literally picked it up from the street.
20250515 - Opuntia - 01.jpg
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20250515 - Opuntia - 02.jpg
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20250515 - Opuntia - 03.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Thu May 15, 2025 4:57 pm Post subject:
The Salix caprea ‘Pendula’ seems to be content with its semi-sunny spot but does look a bit 'out of shape'.
Not that there is anything wrong with it but I was expecting that it would grow leaves directly from it's pendulous branches.
Instead it grows smaller branches from those branches and the leaves grow out of those.
As a result its shape is less defined at the moment but that's fine with me.
The Ajuga that I planted below it as a ground cover is, well,.. starting to cover more ground.
The snowdrop bulbs are also still in there but I am not sure if they'll like the wet conditions.
It might actually be more suitable for Anemones.
20250515 - Salix caprea 'Pendula' - 10.jpg
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20250515 - Salix caprea 'Pendula' - 12.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2025 1:32 pm Post subject:
pink, yellow, white and now orange as well.
forgot I had this one too, actually I am not even sure if I knew I had this one.
It is one of two small clumps that I removed from my herb planter and planted with the other alpine plants.
I initially thought it was 'coral carpet' Sedum but once it started growing it became clear it was more Delosperma.
As far as I know they don't come in blue but maybe I'll come across some Gentiana someday.
20250519 - Delosperma 'Jewel of Desert Sunstone' - 01.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2025 9:12 am Post subject:
IT'S WORLD BEE DAY 2025 AND,.. I SAW A BEE!
ok, technically I saw it sunday but I can't keep my eyes on my balcony all day and I like to believe it returned for more.
It's still only 1 bee though but that's 1 more than last year.
It seemed to prefer the Erysimum but it also visited flowers on the Delosperma, Daisies and Tagetes.
I am particularly happy seeing it on the Tagetes because that's the reason I am growing an open single flower variety.
Since I now know that they are easy to grow inside under LED lights I bought more seeds for next year.
These are Tagetes patula nana in a mix of yellow/orange/red varieties. I will also collect seeds from the ones I am growing this year.
- here's a low quality out-of-focus video of it visiting some other flowers.
I also got a couple more plants, one of which was selected by a bumble bee.
I was just looking at some colorful short snapdragons when a bumble bee came by and crawled into one of the flowers,
so of course that's the plant that I took home with me (after the bee was gone). It's actually 2 different colored plants in a single pot.
The yellow one almost has a neon color, especially in the evening at sun set it appears very bright. The red one has some pink on
the back and also a bit of orange/yellow in it. I am not entirely sure where to place them but I think I only have one suitable spot left.
20250518 - bees - 01.jpg
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20250518 - bees - 02.jpg
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20250518 - bees - 04.jpg
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20250519 - Antirrhinum majus - 01.jpg
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bumble bee approved
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20250520 - Antirrhinum majus - 03.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Tue May 20, 2025 11:45 am Post subject:
I guess it made sense to plant them today and with that the whole planter is filled up.
They're almost lining up in height with the taller ones that I grew from seed last year (all white so far).
hmm, there is still one strawberry plant in there which I moved from the right side to the left because it was
literally getting overshadowed by all the other plants. But now it ended up between the snapdragons and the railing.
I might as well swap the two around and move the strawberry plant to the front.
well, anyway this is what it looks like now. The idea was to create a smörgåsbord of flowers for pollinators and I think
it's working out so far. Might have to give the hanging planter a bit of a haircut for summer, especially since it already dries
out pretty fast and that will get worse if the plants get bigger and the temperature higher.
20250520 - balcony - 41.jpg
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20250520 - balcony - 43.jpg
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20250520 - balcony - 45.jpg
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20250520 - balcony - 46.jpg
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20250520 - Antirrhinum majus - 04.jpg
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5795 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2025 1:51 pm Post subject:
The snapdragons were more of an impulse buy but I also bought some plants that I did set out to get.
first of all Waldsteinia ternata aka barren strawberry which I got as a ground cover for the planter against the wall that has the ivy growing in it.
I've tried growing several plants in it before but so far without much luck, except for the ivy of course that is doing great. It's pretty much always in full
shade apart from a tiny bit of sun at the very end of the day and because of the ivy the soil can get rather dry on sunny days.
Waldsteinia ternata should be ok with full shade and can tolerate dry conditions. I am pretty sure I did try to grow one of those in there before without
success but this time I went all in and got a 6-pack. This doesn't leave a lot of room for them to grow except backwards towards the wall around the ivy
and maybe trailing a bit over the front. I did see some (mostly spend) flowers on them and they might still flower more this year.
Thunbergia alata I tried to grow this from seed last year but from the 6 seeds I had only 1 germinated. I did really like it but one plant wasn't
enough to have the impact I was hoping for. This year I got 12 seeds but again only 1 has germinated, at least so far, so I just bought one.
It did have to spend a little bit more than I'd like for an annual but although it is a single pot it actually had 6 plants in it, all of them larger than
I would be able to grow them at this time of year if I'd grew them from seed. And as a bonus it came with 3 nice sticks I can use as plant supports.
Initially I thought about separating them completely before planting out but the roots were rather fragile and I didn't want to risk damaging those
so I just planted the whole clump and than separated them out above ground. The one I grew from seed is planted in the center and its flowers might
have a different color because it came from a mix.
Dryopteris erythrosora aka Autumn fern. I do already have 2 ferns but although they don't exactly look dead neither of them has put out any
new fronds. I already had my eyes on getting an Autumn fern because I wanted something with different colored foliage, different as in not green.
With all the plants I already have there is quite a variety in shapes/sizes/textures of foliage but most of it is some shade of green.
An Autumn fern has foliage that starts out with a bronze/copper color and then fades to yellow before turning green.
Sempervivum 2 of them for the alpine planter. One of them is a large red one with pale green tips the other one a cluster of bright green ones
with dark red tips. The sedums in the alpine planter are doing better now that they are getting watered more frequently but I might have overdone it
a bit and now the sempervivums aren't happy, well except for one that is.
There is one more plant I'd like to add this year which is a foxglove. I got a really nice compact multi-stemmed flowering one at the beginning of June last
year but at the moment the only ones they had available were just small rosettes of leaves that are nowhere near flowering. When they're that small they
don't do well on my balcony so I'd rather wait and hope I can get one again later.
20250519 - Waldsteinia ternata - 01.jpg
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It has to grow in a bit but I like it already
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20250519 - Thunbergia alata - 01.jpg
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how it started
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20250520 - Thunbergia alata - 02.jpg
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how it's going
note that it's growing at the base of the obelisk that has the hanging planter at the top. if it all works out they should meet and turn it into a tower of flower.
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20250520 - Dryopteris erythrosora - 01.jpg
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such a pretty specimen.
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20250519 - Alpine planter - 05.jpg
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please ignore the sad looking Edelweiss on the left. It doesn't really like the heat (and it's in a small metal box) but perks right up again after a drink in the evening.
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