From the category archives:

Product Roundup

Do Leaf – A Great Way to Find More Interesting Plants

by Fern on February 24, 2010

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I recently became aware of a great new site called Do Leaf when they offered to send me some plants so that I could test out their site (it’s still in beta). Do Leaf is the brain child of Sarah, Ryan, and Micah who were fed up with the mediocre selection of plants at their local big box stores. They decided to put their web development skills to work creating a portal where people like you and me can find plants from specialty nurseries all over the country.

I ordered three plants: Ficus ‘Ruby,’ Nutmeg Scented Geranium , and Catnip. Here are the photos of the unboxing…

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Guest Post: EarthBox Review

by Guest Post on February 18, 2010

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I wish the Earth Box had been around when I first started to grow vegetables back in 1978. At the time, I lived in a row house in South Philadelphia that had no yard. I grew everything in containers – large, plastic basins I bought at the hardware store – on my back porch. I drilled holes in the bottom of the containers to allow for drainage, but soon discovered that in order to prevent the soil from drying out too much during the summer I needed to water everything twice a day.

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Product and Book Review Policy

December 12, 2009

After reading several comments left in the State of the Balcony survey regarding product and book reviews, I want to make my policy on such posts clear.
To state it simply, I never publish anything about a book or product that I don’t personally love and use. Period. I do occasionally receive products and books to [...]

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Black Friday – Here are Some Recommendations

November 27, 2009

I thought I would collect all of the product and book reviews posted on Life on the Balcony in one spot in case you’re planning on any Black Friday or Cyber Monday internet shopping…

Soil Scoop: My first video post (go easy on me!) of a useful product for container gardeners and traditional gardeners alike. The [...]

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Vlog 3: Review of P. Allen Smith’s Container Gardening Deck

November 18, 2009

I recently received a review copy of P. Allen Smith’s Container Gardens Deck. In order to test it out and see whether I would recommend the deck to other people, I took one of the cards with me to the nursery and used it to create a container design:

As you can see, I think the [...]

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Life on the Balcony Vlog #1 – Soil Scoop Review

October 29, 2009

UPDATE: Jayme of aHa Modern Living just sent me a discount code for Life on the Balcony readers who would like to try the soil scoop. If you use the code “balcony” (without the quotes) you’ll receive 10% off. This deal expires on 4/11/2010.
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I am so, so, so, sooooo excited to have [...]

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Review of the Botanical Interests iPhone App

October 5, 2009

I’m very excited to tell you guys about a great iPhone app from Botanical Interests seeds, my favorite seed company. You know how Botanical Interests seed packets have beautiful drawings and an insane amount of info? Yeah, well they brought their great sense of style and desire to share tons of info to the iPhone [...]

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The Most Stylish Bees on the Planet

September 15, 2009

If you are a serious fashionista (or whatever the male equivalent is if you are in possession of a Y chromosome) who would love to don the not-so-stylish bee keeper’s outfit from time to time, you might be in luck. The makers of the chic Eglu chicken coop have come up with an equally modern [...]

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Vegetables on Vacation: How to Water Your Plants While You’re Away From Home

August 12, 2009

My husband’s and my 6th wedding anniversary is coming up at the end of August and we’re planning on visiting the wine country in Paso Robles, CA to celebrate. Wine tasting vacations with your husband should fill you with a sense of anticipation, but instead I feel a tinge of dread. I’ve worked hard all [...]

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5 Great Herb Pots

July 15, 2009

Want to grow some herbs on your kitchen windowsill? Consider these stylish pots perfect for tucking into a sunny spot in your kitchen:

From top to bottom and left to right: (1) Red Herb Pots – Pier One $7.99, (2) Recycled Tire Herb Pot Set – Biome Lifestyle 24.99 British Pounds, (3) Solig Hanging Trio – [...]

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Contest: Win an Ups-A-Daisy Planter Insert!

June 29, 2009

Last week I reviewed a great product called Ups-A-Daisy that I recently discovered (or rather, Mr. Brown Thumb introduced me to one of the owners of the company). The Ups-A-Daisy inserts were so easy to use, and provided such instant benefits (less soil used and lighter pots) that I am super excited to be able [...]

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Review of Ups-A-Daisy Planter Inserts

June 25, 2009

Recently I received a package of pot inserts from Jeff at Kianga, the company that makes the Ups-A-Daisy planter inserts. What a great product! Basically, it slips inside large pots and makes a false bottom so that you need less soil and thus make the pot lighter.

The Ups-A-Daisy inserts are orange, rigid plastic, disks designed [...]

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