Growing Sweet Peas in a Windowsill

Sweet peas are such beautiful looking and smelling plants, and now a days there are so many different varieties, that there really is no reason to let lack of space stop you from growing them.

Photo by teal chick

Recently, Mimi of Israeli Kitchen, asked me this question:

“I’d like to plant some sweet peas in a windowsill - windowsills are all I have. But I’m concerned that they won’t get enough sun. Can you tell me how much sun exposure sweet peas need? I have fantasies of pink and purple flowers climbing up the security bars come springtime…”

Sweet peas generally need full sun to flower profusely, preferably morning sun, because most varieties don’t do too well in hot temperatures. Areas with direct afternoon sun tend to be hotter than those with morning sun. If you don’t think your intended spot gets 6 hours of sunshine, you might try a perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius) as opposed to an annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) because the perennial types seem tolerate more shade than the annual kinds. Although, as I mentioned, they won’t flower as much with less than 6 hours of direct sun. Long periods of dappled sunshine or indirect light might be able to make up for the lack of direct sun, depending on how bright the area is.

November 17, 2008 | Filed Under Container Gardening, Gardening in Full Sun, Gardening in the Shade | 6 Comments

Great Device for Calculating How Much Sun Your Space Gets

Sometimes it’s hard figuring our how much sun you particular balcony or patio gets. Afterall, you’re probably at work for part of the morning and all of the afternoon, and don’t want to spend your weekend glued to your balcony taking notes about the amount of sunshine it gets.

Well, I just came across a device that is made for you called SunCalc (you can purchase it from Burpee Seeds). You simply place SunCalc in a pot or the ground in the area you would like to measure. Make sure the face is parallel to the ground. Start off in the morning (between 7am and 9am) and leave it in place for 12 hours. When you retrieve it at night one of four lights will be illuminated, indicating whether that particular location gets either full shade, partial shade, partial sun, or full sun. SunCalc can then be reused in another location.

If your gardening space has walls on two or more sides, I would place the SunCalc in the middle front, middle back, and each side of your space. The walls may either shade or reflect sunshine for all or part of the day, and you may have different amounts of sunshine in different places, even on a small balcony. I would also test your garden in spring and fall, because the movement of the sun and change in the amount of leaves on nearby trees may also affect the amount of sun your balcony gets.

If you’re plants are struggling and you suspect the problem is that you selected the wrong type of plant for your amount of sunlight, this is definitely 30 bucks well spent.

September 21, 2008 | Filed Under Gardening in Full Sun, Gardening in the Shade | 4 Comments

Sun Hats Are Not Just for Gardeners With Large Yards!

Have you been spending a little too much time on your balcony? Or more precisely, have you been spending too much time in the great outdoors without proper sunscreen? Not good! I am sure you don’t need me to tell you all the negative effects of burning your skin.

Photo by Sebastian L.S.

I always wear a hat and usually wear sunscreen, but this past weekend, my hat wasn’t enough. I paid for it on Monday! Here are three natural remedies for sunburn:

The June issue of Body + Soul magazine suggests that sunburns can be calmed by sponging strongly brewed, chilled tea on the area. Green or black, use whatever you have on hand, it doesn’t make a difference. It’s the tannins in tea that are anti-inflammatory, which will help sooth your inflamed skin.
Willow Light, owner of Portland’s Spa Willamina, recommends a mixtures of 1 tbsp. aloe vera gel, 5 drops of lavender essential oil, 5 drops of chamomile essential oil and 1tbsp. sunflower oil. Apply the mixture to your face like a mask and let dry. Rinse your face after 20 minutes. For a sunburn elsewhere on your body, multiple the ingredients by 4.
Dr. John Reed at WholeHealthMD.com recommends, among other things, a cool bath with 10 drops of lavender essential oil and 10 drops of chamomile essential oil.

Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Or a stitch in time saves nine. Take your pick. Check out these great ways to prevent a burn in the future:

Kiss My Face Oat Protein Sunscreen (30 SPF) contains no animal ingredients, no artificial colors, and was not tested on animals. It contains natural ingredients to help counteract the effects of sun damage while protecting your skin from further UV exposure. Also check out Smart Shield which contains no harsh chemicals and is not petroleum based, so it won’t clog your pores or stain your clothes.
Ann Taylor Loft has a very cute straw hat (for less than $10!) to help protect your face without sacrificing on style. Also check out this post at Eco-Salon about sustainably produced sun hats.
Outdora has a great outdoor umbrella specially designed for those of us with small outdoor spaces. Their half-canopy umbrella sits flush against a wall, saving space while still providing respite from the sun.

August 19, 2008 | Filed Under Gardening in Full Sun, How To, Product Roundup | 2 Comments

Designing Containers With Succulents

Succulents are all the rage right now and for good reason. They’re good looking, drought tolerant, and many are easy to grow. Designing a pot featuring succulents is no different than designing a pot with “regular” plants; you still need thrillers, fillers, and spillers.

You do need to take into consideration a few special points in the actual planting process though. Succulents like good drainage, now is not the time to use a pot without a drainage hole. You’ll also want to use a fast draining soil, preferably one designed for cacti and succulents. I have started using my own mixture of two parts soil-less potting mix to one part sand.

Finally, be sure to take into consideration the amount of light your balcony gets. I have a couple of Echeveria and an Aloe that do not like full sun conditions. Not all succulents are sun lovers. I found this out the hard way when the sun scortched burn marks on their leaves and killed some of my other succulents. If I had just read the plant tags more closely…

Here are a couple of my succulent containers:

This pot features my current favorite succulent, Kalanchoe “Flapjacks,” there in the back. He’s the guy with the red tinged upright leaves. To his left is a Sempervivum arachnoideum (”Hens and Chicks”), aptly named “Spiderweb.” To the right of the Kalanchoe is “Burros Tail,” one of the first plants I ever owned, a cutting from my grandma’s garden. In the front, a sedum spilling over the edge of the pot.

What I tried to do here is what I try to do with every container I plant: find a thriller (the Kalanchoe), compliment it with some fillers (in this case, the Sempervivum and the Burros Tail) and then finish it off with an appropriate spiller (the Sedum). I’m not always as successful as I think (hope?) I was here. But ever since reading about the thriller, filler, spiller idea I’ve had a lot more success with creating nice looking containers.

This is another container (same pot from Ikea to help create a cohesive display) with a an unknown (the pot was mislabeled) dusty rose colored succulent and an unknown variety of aeonium serving as the thrillers in the back. To the right is another one of my favorite succulents, Anacampseros telephiastrum “sunrise,” which has yellow leaves tinged with magenta (filler). In front of the Anacampseros is another Sempervivum (filler). In the front, left side of the pot is a different variety of Sedum (spiller). Finally, on the left side of the pot is a Mammillaria cactus (filler).

I admit that in this pot I was trying to use up some random succulents I had around, but I did try and use plants that were blue-green or pink so that the container didn’t look too haphazard.

July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Container Gardening, Gardening in Full Sun, How To, Succulents and Cacti | 3 Comments

Great Tip: How to Tell Which Area of Your Garden Will Get Sunshine in the Fall and Winter

Jim McCausland over at Fresh Dirt has a great tip for determining which area (if any) of your balcony or patio will be sunny during the fall and winter:

Thursday evening, set your alarm for 1 a.m. (If this plan won’t fly with your spouse, drink a couple of glasses of water before you go to bed, and you’ll be up at the appropriate time.) Go outside when the alarm goes off, and you’ll find the full moon floating in almost exactly the same spot the sun will occupy five months from now. Whatever beds get moonlight now will get sunlight then. Whatever beds are shaded by buildings and evergreen trees now will be shaded by the same things in December.

…

The difference between the sun’s summer and winter tracks is sharp. Today in Seattle, the midday sun is 64° above the horizon. In late December, it will be only 19° above the horizon. In Los Angeles today, the midday sun is 77° above the horizon, while in December, it will be 33° above the horizon. The difference is what causes such long winter shadows.

This is important advice, because as Jim notes, now is the time to plant fall and winter vegetable seeds, but obviously those plants will need sunshine a few months from now to do their best.

July 15, 2008 | Filed Under Fall Gardening, Fruits & Vegetables, Gardening in Full Sun, Winter Gardening | Leave a Comment

What to Plant in A Very Sunny Garden

Last week, I posted about one common problem small space gardeners face: finding gorgeous plants for a shady container garden. But equally as difficult to deal with is a garden that is scortched by the sun. On a balcony that only receives a moderate amount of sun, containers can dry out quickly. This problem is multipled in a space that gets a lot of sun. In such gardens, it’s probably best to pick plants that prefer dry, sunny conditions. Or if you just can’t live without a water lover, pick large pots and plant them densly. Large pots tend to dry out less frequently than small pots, and a lack of exposed soil seems to also help keep moisture in the pot.

Many vegetables and herbs enjoy lots of sun. And there is always cacti, pretty much all of them like tons of sun and dry conditions. Succulents are also really popular these days, although be careful when selecting succulents because not all of them do well in full-sun. Try to stay away from metal containers because they can get really hot in the sun and toast your plants’ roots.

Try potting these plants together, they all prefer good drainage, light watering and full sun. And they are all pretty hardy:

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass (A) - Has upright, bright green leaves and wheat colored flowers. Plant it towards the back so it can serve as a backdrop to the other plants.
Lavender Cotton (B) - I’m not really sure why this plant is called “Lavender Cotton” as there really isn’t anything purple about it. Anyway, this plant loves sun and prefers dry, sandy, poor soil. It has silvery, feathery foliage and bright orange pom-pom flowers. Plant it in the middle-back of the pot, in front of the feather reed grass. Hardy to zone 5.
Yarrow “Moonshine” (C) - Has four inch flower clusters with yellow flowers that appear in June and will keep on flowering until September if you dead head. Bonus: it has nice silver-green foliage. Plant it on the other side of the Lantana near the front.
Lantana “Lucious Citrus Blend” (D) - This plant is covered in clusters of multi-colored orange/red/yellow flowers and has a backdrop of dark green leaves. Lantana has the added benefit of attracting butterflies. Plant it very close to the front and to one side, and encourage it to spill over the side of the container. Note: lantana leaves can be poisonous to pets.

Other great full-sun, low-water plants: Echinecia purpurea “Fatal Attraction”, Russian Sage, Persian Shield, and Creeping Jenny “Goldilocks.” Also, check out this plan from Better Homes & Gardens for a full sun, high humidity container featuring an really beautiful Canna.

July 14, 2008 | Filed Under Container Gardening, Gardening in Full Sun | Leave a Comment