And the Winner of the Indoor Plant Contest Is…

First things first. Thank you to Nell Jean, Janie (check out the photos from her kennel’s website if you want to see the most adorable French Bulldog puppies), Robert, Julie, Zach, Denny and Cindy for participating. I know I speak for all the judges when I say that we had a lot of fun looking at your photos and reading about your plants. It was a tough choice, and I will say that there was a (somewhat) heated debate about who should be the winner.

Okay, enough babbling and more announcing, right? Click the link below to see who won a copy of The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual…

December 10, 2008 | Filed Under Contests | 5 Comments

December Contest: Enjoying Plants Indoors

The vast majority of gardeners have now stopped actively gardening outdoors. But that doesn’t mean that all gardening must end. Those of us who have honed our container gardening skills outdoors this past Spring, Summer and Fall are now well-trained in the art of growing things in pots and ready to try our hand at growing things in pots indoors.

To participate in this month’s contest:

Take a photo of your favorite, most beautiful indoor plant. Any living plant (not cut flowers) that currently lives inside can be the subject of your photo. Creativity in how you take or stage the photo is encouraged.
Post your photo somewhere online, either on your blog or on a photo sharing website like Flickr. Be sure to post a link back to Life on the Balcony with the photo so that I can be sure that you are not claiming someone else’s photo.
Come back to this post and provide a link to your photo.
You have until December 9th at 12pm (noon) California time to enter your photo. I’ll announce the winner on December 10th.
The contest is open to anyone over the age of 18 who resides in the U.S.

I’ve assembled a panel of friends and family to help me judge your submissions. Our favorite photo will win a copy of The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual: Essential Gardening Know-How for Keeping (Not Killing) More Than 160 Indoor Plants.

While the name of this book sounds stodgy, this is an excellent guide to keeping all sorts of indoor plants alive and well. Every plant in the book has a beautiful, full color photo to help you correctly identify your plants. The tone of the writing is conversational and light while still providing you with the info you need to keep your indoor plants from dying. The book also includes general indoor plant care advice, information about propagation of indoor plants, and troubleshooting help for when things start to go wrong. And the whole thing is organized in a way that makes sense, making the book easy to use.

Basically, if you’ve been looking for a book about indoor plants for “normal people” that has helpful photos and useful information, this is the book for you.

December 2, 2008 | Filed Under Contests, General | 13 Comments

November Contest - There’s No Need to Dread Winter!

I’m very excited about this month’s contest, and I hope you are too! One of the reasons I am super excited is that my favorite seed company is donating part of the prize. The picture below is a hint…

How to Participate

It’s super easy to participate in this contest. All you have to do is comment on a post. Any post. For the next two weeks (until November 17th at midnight Pacific time). To be eligible, the comment has to contribute to the conversation, it can’t just be “great post,” or something similar. Ask a question, share your experience or plans for the future, respond to another commenter…If you make your comment a complete sentence, you should be fine.

I didn’t want to limit this month’s contest to people who have blogs, because I felt bad excluding non-blogging gardeners from last month’s contest. So if those of you who do have blogs could help me get the word out, I’d really appreciate it!

The Prize

The winner will receive a copy of McGee & Stuckey’s excellent book, Bountiful Container. He or she will also receive all of the seeds needed (lavender, mint, pansy, and thyme) to complete a project from the book called “Lavender Lady,” AND a natural cotton tote featuring the lavender drawing shown on the seed packet above. The seeds and tote are courtesy of Botanical Interests seed company.

How a Winner Will be Chosen

The comments on my blog are assigned a number automatically by my blogging software. I will use a random number generator to pick a number. The comment with that number will be selected as the winner. The more you comment, the more opportunities you’ll have to win!

Who is Eligible to Participate

Sorry, but only people residing in the U.S. will be eligible to win a prize. Canada, for example, has some crazy contest rules (I would have to take out a bond for $3000 to open up the contest to Canadians!) and the customs charges and international shipping costs make it impossible for me to open up the contest to people outside of the U.S. I’m sorry, I really wish things were different.

November 3, 2008 | Filed Under Contests | 33 Comments

And the Winner of the Contest Is…

Cindy from Walk Down the Garden Path! Cindy guessed 98 seeds, she was only two off, I collected 96 seeds.

Congrats Cindy! I’m going to send you an email right now to get your shipping information.

Thanks Julie, Marilyn, Louise, Nola and Amy for participating!

October 13, 2008 | Filed Under Contests | 1 Comment

Contest - How Many Seeds?

So, I mentioned yesterday that I was going to have a contest. Actually, I am going to have 5 contests. One the first Tuesday of every month, with the last one in February. I figure we can use a little fun while things are winding down or dead in the fall and winter months.

Every month, I’ll try and come up with something fun and light-hearted. The contest will last for six days, from Tuesday at 10am to Monday and 10am. On Monday, I will announce the winner on the blog and also email him or her. And there will be prizes! Good ones! At least, I think they’re good…

Here’s October’s contest:

How many cilantro seeds–pictured above–did I collect this season? I’ll give you a hint, it was more than 50, don’t guess low! Also, as you can see, the seeds are in a pile, so some of them are beneath the seeds on top, don’t think that you can just count the seeds that you can actually see (I’m on to you tricksters).

To participate in the contest, post your guess on your blog with a link back to this post. Then, come back here and leave a link back to your guess in the comments section of this post. You have my permission to use the above picture in the post with your guess (you don’t have to though).
You have until Monday, October 13th at 10am Pacific time to submit your guess.
You must reside in the United States, have a valid United States address, and be 18 years of age or older to participate.
If there are two or more people who guess correctly, or who are equally close, I will select a winner randomly from the people who guessed correctly/were equally close to the right answer.
If the winner does not provide me with their address (so I can ship the prizes) within a week, I will select the next closest guess as a new winner.

The winner will get a copy of Big Ideas for Small Gardens by Dave Egbert and a $10 gift certificate for Renee’s Garden Seeds.

I’m sorry, but only people living in the United States may participate in this contest. I can’t afford international shipping and customs charges, and there is no way I can research the applicable laws to make sure my contest is kosher in other countries. Also, most countries don’t permit seeds to be imported without a lot of red tape, so international participants wouldn’t be able to claim half of the prize anyway.

This contest is void in any state or municipality where such contests are prohibited by law.

October 7, 2008 | Filed Under Contests | 14 Comments