Hello everyone! Wow, it’s definitely starting to feel a little autumnal out there… I’d better start knitting faster to make sure the Beasties and I have enough woollies to see us through the cooler days that are coming! And before the weather turns, I also thought it might be a good idea to sort out my sad and unruly balcony garden.
I thought. I didn’t actually do anything.
Regular BeastieBlog readers may remember that we bumped into Gardener Beastie at the Botanic Gardens a couple of weeks ago.
Clearly embarrassed by the state of our little patch of urban green space, Explorer Beastie must have made a call… Because yesterday morning, as I sat down at my craft table, I overheard this…
“Wow, there’s a lot to do here, isn’t there?”
And then,
“Did you say there was a human around somewhere who could help?”
Ears burning, I made the mistake of stepping out onto the balcony.
“Yes! Here she is now!”
So much for sitting back and letting the Beasties sort it out! It’s lucky I had my old clothes on, because the rest of my day was looking a bit like this:
Explorer Beastie and I started with some weeding…
… While Gardener Beastie planned our next move.
As the only one with hands big enough to manage the secateurs, I was on pruning duty.
These chives might even bounce back if we trim away the dead flower heads and repot the rest.
But some things in the balcony garden were very much alive.
“These strawberry runners can all go into pots to become new plants!”
And to make sure the wind doesn’t blow the baby plants out of their pots before they have a chance to grow real roots, we put some of the squillions of wire twisty ties that come free with any electronics purchase to use.
“Bend each one into an arch, and pin the plant to the soil. That’ll keep them in place!”
Thanks, Gardener Beastie!
Now, what can we do with this big pot, which I found down by the recycling bins earlier? (How lucky!)
“How about pairing up one of the little trees with some cyclamen? Cyclamen loves shade and doesn’t take much from the soil… Should work out nicely!”
So, I moved the two plants in together, and added another cyclamen from indoors that seemed to be finding it a bit warm. I also discovered some seeds in the pot with the white-flowered plant, which I spread around over the extra “blank space” in the new container.
Are we done now? Not quite.
“Is there anything in here?”
“Ohhh, yes! This basket has bulbs in it! They still flower every spring, no matter what the weather’s doing…”
“…But the basket might have seen better days.”
“Okay! Let’s get them out of there…”
“… And into something bigger. You should have a great display to look forward to this spring!”
And speaking of the future…
“Don’t forget to pick those up and plant them! They’re nasturtium seeds. Nasturtiums mean free salad leaves for you, and a feast for your local bees too!”
And now we’re finished!
“Much better. Time for a cup of tea!”
Oh yes, I think we’ve earned it!
If you’ve any extra garden tips and tricks, please share them with us in the comments… And I’ll send Explorer Beastie outside to put them into action.
We’ll be back next Tuesday to catch up with Paddy and Plunkett, so be sure to join us then!
… Explorer Beastie strolled off to see if there might be any other Beasties about.
He didn’t have to go far… There’s one!
Hey there, 
Visitors of all sizes.
And just as we were about to leave, Explorer Beastie spotted a familar face. Look who’s hanging out in the hanging baskets!