It seems like today, with a high of 24°C, marks the end of summer my area in Germany according to the weather forecast. Yesterday also marked the official start of autumn, which feels about right. While feeling a bit nostalgic for summer, I pulled out summer plants that didn’t bear fruit and removed the netting for the bitter melons. The clear blue sky of autumn is refreshing, though.
While tidying up, I discovered strawberries I thought was done for the season. They are from a plant that gave us many delicious strawberries in the summer, so I decided to leave and wait for them to ripen slowly.
Before mid-October, I plan to plant bulbs and sow seeds for winter-hardy vegetables like corn salad and purslane. Slowly, I’m transitioning the balcony into its autumn and winter version.
I also planted fig seeds I brought back the fruits from Hive Fest in Croatia. A blog post mentioned that sprouts can appear as early as two weeks, so I’m excited to see what happens.
I placed the pot with the fig seeds on top of my daily coffee beans. As it's not the typical season for planting, so this will help me remember to check on them regularly 😉
In addition to my regular Sunday balcony maintenance, I visited a local university's botanical garden for their autumn plant fair yesterday. It’s held twice a year, in spring and autumn. While the spring fair features a lot of annual vegetable seedlings, the autumn one has more fruit trees and perennials, and the atmosphere feels more relaxed and calmer, which I enjoyed a lot.
Amid all the plants on display, I found myself drawn to the figs once again, probably because of my fig obsession during Hive Fest 😁 A gardening friend who came along told me about some delicious figs she tried in France that were white with a slight green tint. We had a great conversation about figs.
We also met up with a friends' family who recently rented a garden, and we enjoyed a lovely coffee break while chatting about plants and gardens.
Since my balcony space is limited, I had to resist the temptation to buy everything! I settled on a few plants: a lovely houseplant with pink-accented leaves, a pot of myoga (Japanese ginger) that can withstand temperatures as low as -21°C(!), a regional plant from a local nursery that will bloom yellow flowers in spring, and a heart-shaped succulent for my daughter. I’m excited to welcome these new friends.
That’s the update from my tiny balcony garden and a bit about the plant fair visit.
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is cooling down, so let’s enjoy some slow-paced gardening while taking care of our health. And to those in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy your spring 😊
Wishing everyone a great week ahead. Happy gardening!
ドイツは向こう2週間の天気予報を見ると、今日の最高気温24度で夏が終わりという感じです。昨日から暦の上でも秋で、大体合っている感じです。名残惜しく感じつつ、実のついていないトマトの株を抜いて、ゴーヤのネットを外しました。秋の高い青空がくっきり見えるのもいいですね。
片付けをしていると、もう今年の収穫は終わったとばかり思っていたいちごがなっていました。夏においしいいちごをたくさんつけた株で、そのまま残してゆっくり赤くなるのを待つことにします。
10月中ばまでに球根を買って植えて、ノヂシャやスベリヒユなど耐寒性のある冬野菜の種をまいて、徐々にバルコニーを秋冬仕様にしていく予定です。
クロアチアから持ち帰ったイチヂクからとった種の一部を植えてみました。早いと2週間くらいで芽が出たというブログ記事も見かけたので楽しみです。
イチヂクの種をまいた鉢は、種まきシーズンではないので忘れないように、日々飲むコーヒーの豆の上に置いておくことにしました。
昨日は市内の大学の植物園で春と秋に開催される植物市が開催され、ガーデニング仲間と一緒に見に行きました。春の開催では一年生の野菜の苗などが多い一方で、秋の開催は果樹や多年生の植物が多く落ち着いた雰囲気でした。
いろいろな果樹がある中で、Hive Fest期間中に夢中になったイチヂクにどうしても目がいってしまいました。一緒に植物市を見に行った友人はフランスで白に薄く緑がかったおいしいイチヂクを食べてたとのことで、イチヂクトークが盛り上がりました。
植物市では最近庭を借りたという友人一家とも出会い、植物トークで盛り上がりつつコーヒータイムを楽しみました。
バルコニーのスペースには限りがあるので、あれもこれも欲しい気持ちは抑えつつ、ピンクの差し色が入った葉っぱがきれいな観葉植物を一鉢、マイナス21度まで耐寒性があるという茗荷を一鉢、地域の植物屋さんから春に黄色い花を咲かせるという植物を一鉢、子供のお土産にハート型の多肉植物を一鉢買ってきました。新しい仲間たち、よろしくね。
そんなこんなの我が家のマイクロバルコニーでした。北半球の人はこれから寒くなりますね。体調に気をつけてスローなガーデニングを楽しみましょう。南半球の人は春を楽しんで！いずれにせよみなさんいい一週間を 😉
It's always nice to buy new plants! You have to be very inventive with just a small amount of space, but you're doing well!
Totally. I always dream if I had infinite space ... 😉 But it's fun to be creative with a limited space too.
It's so exciting to see the development of your figs...
Hunger driven gardening 😆 I just want to eat the fig again!
Thank you for curating my post!