Garden Notes

Balcony garden photo taken on rainy day.

Every spring around Mother’s Day I drive to Chicago for a long weekend to visit my daughter Rochelle. We go out to eat, have our nails done and sometimes go shopping or to a movie. However, as part of that weekend tradition, we always buy flowering annuals at the local garden center and plant both her front garden and the pots located on her upstairs porch.

Rochelle’s porch measures about 4 feet x 10 feet and has a black wrought iron railing and simple furniture — 2 chairs and a couple of small tables. A few perennials that can survive the cold Chicago winters live on her porch — mainly hosta and some ferns. In a mild winter, the dianthus often survives as well. The balcony has pots hanging off the long section and a window box arrangement for the short end. There are a few big planters standing on the deck and small pots fill the tables and window ledge.

Each spring Rochelle chooses a color scheme for her flowers and those colors often change from year to year. Since the balcony is on the northeast side of the building, we choose a lot of shade plants. Then we spend a half day planting and watering all our selections to be sure they are happy in their new homes before I head back to Milwaukee.

I really like our tradition and am happy to help with the planting. However, the favorite part for me is imagining my daughter on a warm summer evening sitting on her balcony with a glass of wine and a good book surrounded by flowers and lush greenery.

Images show various sections of porch garden