My Balcony Garden - June 2019

Today, I'm going to take you into my garden!

The month of June is a good time to see all the lovely colours and flowers

in my Balcony Garden!

These beautiful yellow Primula were planted at the beginning of March

and they have done marvellously well.

A huge favourite of mine are Gaillardia flowers, sometimes called Blanket Flowers.

I had them for the first time two years' ago

but couldn't find them last year.

I did buy three beautiful plants downtown in the Flower Market this year though.

Aren't the buds so full of lovely details?

So charming too when the petals start to form

They are doing so well

and the bees adore them.

I can see why!

My lovely purple Campanula, or Bellflowers, have been coming back for years

in a very big terra cotta pot.

So lovely to have this colour among the warmer tones.

My Edelweiss flowers are doing so well. Most of them are still in bud form.

I still need to find some blue Gentian to keep them company.

The Zinnias are looking lovely.

Three different colours in the same window box

Red

Yellow

Pink

Surrounded by deep blue Lobelia

and white Alyssum

There are dark pink and lighter pink Geraniums

There are peachy pink Begonia

and darker Begonia with frilly petals

My hydrangea, my Mother's Day gift, are turning pink

Aren't those tiny central flowers amazing?

Here is the view from one side of my balcony overlooking the road below.

I was happy to see how much greenery I can see, despite my urban environment.

I'm ending up with a collage of my geraniums that you can see in the photo of my balcony.

I hope that you have enjoyed this colourful visit of all the flowers that make me happy

every year.

Having a balcony makes living in a town very much more bearable.

In fact, I have the best of both worlds really 

with all the useful shops and other amenities in my direct neighbourhood

and the joy of seeing so much green and having the possibility of

growing all these flowers outside.

Do you like growing flowers and plants?

Perhaps you have your favourites too.

High Above the Lake

The day was almost perfect

It was warm and great for walking

but a slight haze made the lake look a little misty.

We took the little train up to a place called Chexbres, 

high above the lake.

The flowers were all gorgeous, especially the geraniums.

This is a decorated old fountain on the way down to the vineyards.

This is just one of the decorations right next to the Chexbres train station.

These wonderful dark berries were ripening against an old wall.

A rusty gate and some steep steps led up to some vineyards

So prettily decorated with wild growing flowers

but not to be used by tourists or visitors.

The grape vines are protected at this time of the year.

We stayed to the public paths between the vines.

You can see how steep these slopes are.

Ideal for ripening the grapes and exposed to the sun and the reverberation

from the lake.

Here's a wider view of the vineyards with the slightly hazy lake and mountains beyond.

The grapes are protected both from passing walkers and the birds

by nets. I put my camera lens through the mesh of the nets to take this photo.

Here's the church steeple from the village called St. Saphorin

where we had lunch.

The church door as we made our way down some steep steps.

The ornate and lovely sign of the well known restaurant

called l'Auberge de l'Onde.

We sat next to an open window in the restaurant facing the church.

This refreshing drink is called 'Blanc cassis.

It's a mixture of cooled white wine with a dash of Blackcurrant liqueur!

A pretty dark pink rose on each table.

You can see the reflection of the church wall and blue sky

in the shiny dark vase.

The delicious looking ripe white grapes

just about ready for harvesting!

The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The last time I walked in these vineyards was in May 2016.

You can see what they looked like

HERE

The little gardener

My grandson loves helping on my balcony garden!