My Balcony in June 2017

These are the last of my pansies which I picked mid-June
so that I could plant the dahlias!

Every season has its flowers
and after pansies come all sorts of beauties
like these orange and yellow dahlias with a fine red line around each petal.

Refreshing pink

and luminous red

and a mixture of warm colours.
Two window boxes of dahlias are planted in front of the garden table
where I eat every day.

A hydrangea heart.
This plant hadn't flowered for three whole years
and I was about to give up on it
and told it so!
It must have heard me because it suddenly started growing
beautiful light pink flower clusters!
This is my oldest hydrangea.

Last year, I bought a new hydrangea to compensate for the 
older plant which had remained dormant for so long.
I'm thrilled with the deep raspberry pink of these new flowers

which can be seen even better here.

but the hydrangea star of the show this year has been this beauty
in tones of  pink lilac, developing into deeper tones of blue.
This one was a beautiful birthday and Mother's Day gift
from my son this year!

The final colour.
Though as I speak, the flowers are changing yet again
to more muted pastel shades with touches of pale green.
Beautiful at every stage!

The Physalis, or Chinese Lantern
is doing so well.
I love to watch the tiny white flower transform into tiny bud
which then develops in to a little green lantern.
They will look so pretty when they all turn orange.

The different stages can be seen here in the collage.

Pink anthemis flower the whole summer through
these are a welcome splash of colour next to my kitchen door.

My small olive tree is laden with tiny flowers which will become olives!

New this year is an oleander plant with beautiful coral blooms.

Two kinds of bell-flowers or Campanula.
The ones above which have grown back from last year

and these smaller ones in a big tub which come back every year.

All these wonderful colours make life living in the town more bearable.
My flowers are my joy and I love to sit outside
for all my meals and read surrounded by all these manifestations of nature.


Sometimes,
I like to pick just a few flowers to enjoy inside.

If you have a balcony or a terrace, or if you're fortunate enough to have a garden,
I hope you are enjoying all the wonders of nature.
Just like me!


22 comments

  1. WOW - such beautiful photo's, as ever.
    Cor your Olive tree is doing way better than mine on the flowering front!

    Have a wonderful day.

    Hugs, Sarn xxx

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    1. Thanks, Sarn! It's amazing the number of plants I can squeeze onto my balcony, isn't it?! My little Olive tree was slow in starting, but now it's doing well again!
      Always lovely to see your positive feedback here!

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  2. Thank you for the hint, dear Sandra. As soon as we're back home I'm going to have a serious chat with our hydrangeas. Non of them have bloomed these last two years and non of them looks very promising yet. Maybe having a serious word with them will help indeed...
    Hugs,
    Marjan
    P.S.: Most lovely pictures!

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    1. Thank you, Marjan. Glad you liked my flowers this year! It would seem that certain plants need to lie dormant for a while from time to time. It had always given an abundance of blooms and then suddenly for three whole years, just leaves! This year it's huge again and full of blooms!

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  3. What beautiful flowers you have, Sandra.
    The hydrangea are breathtakingly beautiful.
    Have a wonderful week ahead!

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    1. Thank you, Lisa. Yes, the hydrangeas are really doing well this year. I love them so much because they flower for so long and change colour all the time!

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  4. Your header photo is lovely as can be. So are all the flower images in this post. My my, such lovely flowers! The first one won my heart. i don't think I have ever seen pansies in those lovely delicate colors. A perfect solstice post.

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    1. Thank you, Tammie. The header photo is of my pink anthemis daisies. Those little pansies are my favourites! They have such a charming colour scheme. I plant them every spring!

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  5. Also, I don't think that I have ever seen olive flowers before, so fun!

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    1. Yes, the olive tree flowers are so tiny and yet so beautiful!

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  6. Replies
    1. Thank you, Fi. I'm in Heaven surrounded by all my flowers!!

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  7. How delightful your balcony garden must be! It must be wonderful to sit out there and enjoy your meal and a good read!

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    1. Thank you, Cathy! It really is lovely to have my balcony and read and take all my meals out there. When it's really hot though, it can be a little too hot at lunch time already, but for breakfast and supper, it's perfect!

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  8. Fabulous rainbow of color. The simple blooms in small vases, they are always a treat.

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    1. Thank you, Sarah. I do enjoy having flowers to fill up my balcony in the warm months. Yes, and a few little blooms find their way into a vase or two!

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  9. Hydrangeas always seem so magical as they change tints. Your flowers are all lovely! Those sculptural dahlias (especially the red-bordered one), ethereal pansies, cheerful anthemis, and gloriously lavender campanulas are my favourites. :)

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    1. So nice to see you, Sue! Yes, hydrangeas do have a magical colour changing effect all through their blooming right up until the autumn. I love it too! I love how those campanulas come back every year with no trouble at all!

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  10. Your balcony looks like a bit part of paradise, my dear. What delicious fragrances you can smell every morning! Marvelous photographs as ever. Thanks so much for sharing beauty with us. Have a lovely summer season ahead! 💕🍃🌸🍃

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    1. Thank you so much for your visit and your kind comment. My balcony full of plants and flowers is so important for me living in the town! You create wonderful flowers with your nimble fingers and crochet hook and charming coloured cottons! Wishing you a wonderful summer also. It has been too hot here for the season, but we are going towards cooler days next week, at last!

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  11. When the flowers are blooming, you are in your element. Sandra. Colour becomes you.

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    1. Oh thank you, Kim! Such a nice thing to say. Yes, flowers and all their wonderful colours and perfumes fill me with their energy and their presence!

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