A small balcony in Amsterdam, with morning sun. Click on the photos for more explanation!
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| Worm composting May 21, 2012 | ||
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I have been obsessed about composting on my balcony - and finally discovered how to put worms to work, eating my kitchen waste. I just took a worm composting workshop, and have my small worm container ready to gobble up everything I feed it (I hope). But I posted this glog on my other garden - Allotment on the Dike. Even though... ...see more |
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Worms are fabulous for the garden. |
| Bees getting busy! Jul 10, 2011 | ||
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Ever since I heard about Your Garden Show's Bee-a-thon, I have been noticing bees (and other friendly pollinators) all over the place. Today I counted two at once, and took this cute shot of bees enjoying a little action on my balcony's chicken wire fence. I already signed up to be part of the hunt for bees on 16 July - I hope... ...see more |
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My bees have disappeared! We noticed this morning that we didn't see any of the small bumbles coming out of their usual location - someone said that, shock horror, someone in the area might have gassed the... more » |
| It took a little time... May 25, 2011 | ||
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... but I finally did something on the balcony. I had planted seeds because I thought I'd start growing herbs and salad instead of flowers. But I just NEED flowers! And veg is so cheap in my neighborhood. So I broke down and bought my usual impatiens and an aster and remembered the dahlia bulb I bought at IKEA. |
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You certainly have a lot going on on your balcony....How big is it? All the things you have growing, your composting, starting of seedlings, etc. make it seem like it is huge. |
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I have some balcony tomatoes for you if you want. And I have plenty of lettuce seed! You can also try a climbing eggplant? Again have a seedling for you ;)! |
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This is amazing! Only a Dutch would be able to squeeze a garden like this into their own small balcony! :)) Keep up the good work! |
| Early spring 2011 Feb 18, 2011 | |
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You are lucky Claire! I am just happy that we can see a little brownish green frozen grass - let's hope that the flowers will come soon! |
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I was not aware of a short stem iris that could be potted I love seeing how you have them planted and they are adding such early color to your space. I have yellow iris but mine are the tall ones that bloom later in the season. |
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Are those pansies sprouting out amongst the iris? I have had mine come up through the snow in my large pots. |
| Happy New Year to all my gardening friends! Jan 01, 2011 | ||
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For the past month, Amsterdam has experienced the worst winter in my 25 years living here. Piles of snow, icy sleet, freezing cold (-10C or 14F). Normally, I bike everywhere, but after a winter tumble last year that left me in a cast for 5 weeks, I decided to walk everywhere and rediscovered the "joys" of public transportation.... ...see more |
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I have been watching the Amsterdam winter through the eyes of Anna Keen (do you know her?). Here, we had snow, and my cacti all "wilted". But still there are green fields and now there is a warm wind from Africa. My poor terrace looks pretty dismal.... |
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Hi Claire, Recently Amsterdam was featured in an episode of House Hunters International. Don't know if you watch the show. A young lady was moving from the US and seeking a house th... more » |
| Planting bulbs for spring Nov 07, 2010 | ||
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This weekend was my last real chance to take a day off to do my flower boxes. That means taking out the dead impatiens stems and planting a selection of bulbs. Good thing the sun decided to come out - and my new Internet radio was excellent help too, making me laugh with "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" while I broke my back lifting... ...see more |
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Have you seen the bulb selections in the stores in the U.S.? How do they compare? Do the U.S. stores have the same vast selection? |
| Rainpipe irrigation Whole garden Oct 17, 2010 | ||
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Care activities:
Repotted / Transplanted
Watered
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What a fantastic idea to tap into the rain pipe. I will look for some of these parts in the U.S. What is the device in photos 7 and 8? Not too sure of its purpose either. |
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Oh, here's the link to that blog post on the rainbarrel product so artfully designed:&nb... more » |
| New media added Oct 05, 2010 | |
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| Tending my father-in-law's garden & finding earthworms! Oct 02, 2010 | |
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Since my mother-in-law died 10 years ago, I have been somewhat tending her widow's garden. I've inherited sandy soil near the beach, an asbestos pond, blaring sunshine and a totally inactive father-in-law, who won't even water the hydrangeas. |
| I found worms! Whole garden Sep 26, 2010 | |
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Observed:
Pest or problem
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Exciting news! By the way, I have gotten worms (need to be "land worms") from a fishing/bait store. One little bin of them makes a kingdom in short order if you feed them enough. |
| Oh crap..... Whole garden Sep 25, 2010 | |
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Observed:
Pest or problem
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Were the leaves falling in September in Amsterdam? Seems like an early autumn! |
| Wow! Balcony composter is working! Sep 11, 2010 | |
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I doubted... but it's working! Today I opened my balcony composter to toss in some rotting bananas, and a swarm of fruit flies greeted me - ugh! So I stirred in the bananas and - man oh man, it was HOT in there! I just didn't expect it to happen, but nature does work wonders! |
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Is there anything you won't put into your balcony composter, Claire? |
| Let's start composting! Aug 26, 2010 | ||
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Yesterday I got the drill and made a bunch of holes - 2-3 inches apart as instructed by many site I consulted. Then I put a newspaper in the bottom to collect any moisture, added some leaves I got from my office garden, and tossed in the first bit of old potatoes and leftovers from dinner. |
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| New planting Aug 24, 2010 | |||||
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| New planting Aug 24, 2010 | |||||
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