Simply Beautiful. You have created a very pretty and appealing garden area.

That is just gorgeous. And you have hydrangeas! I've been wanting one forever and finally got a 'Cityline Mars' this year. Your Annabelles are sooo pretty!

I'm actually attempting to start some oakleaf hydrangeas from seed this year.

That is a really lovely spot you have there.

PV

Thank you! I needed some shade tolerant flowering shrubs and thought.. Hydrangeas! I also have a Tardiva Hydrangea and an Endless Summer Hydrangea. The Tardiva is just starting to bloom now :)

this is beautiful! i would love a balcony like that too....mine only has lemon trees so far...i have to start planning expansion;)

Very beautiful :)

Lovely! I also have a 3rd floor north-facing balcony, but mine is recessed and gets no direct sunlight. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. If i got some light, it would be so much easier! The intense summer heat here doesn't help either. All my impatiens heat-stressed to death this summer. I was considering aucuba and liriope, and maybe hardy begonia.

The one thing I did find is that the Hydrangeas need tons of water throughout the summer.. especially on the days when it was over 100 for a few days in a row and windy. I was very impressed of how it all turned out. By the end of the summer the climbing roses had grown from small plants of maybe a foot tall up to 8ft long canes on each and reached the middle on top above the patio railings! We will have to see what makes it through the winter. Have only had one day of -10 F so it has been very mild.

My daughter lives in a condo on Chicago's North side. She is on the second floor of a 4 story building and her balcony is on the northeast side. Each spring for Mother's day I visit her and we go out to lunch and do some girlie things like manicures or shopping. Then as part of my visit, we go to the garden center where she picks out plants for her balcony and we plant them together.

She has ferns, hosta, heuchera and periwinkle that live on the porch all year in pots and somehow survive the Chicago winter. She usually buys impatiens, begonias, herbs and a couple of interesting new plants each year for our garden day. By the time I visit again in summer, her porch is lush and beautiful and is the perfect shady spot to relax in the evening with a glass of wine and talk.

curious....it looks like you have a hanging bird feeder. Any problems with bird poops and the balcony below? I just moved into a place and have a 4th floor balcony. I'd love to be able to feed the birds but feared it would cause problems for people below me with balcony...

Tx.

actually I just noticed the suet feeder you have as well, so you must definitely be getting birds. ;-) Since there doesn't seem to be a way for me to 'follow' this thread or getting notified of new replies, are you able to send me an email reply through my user name? Tx!! I might forget to come back to this particular post or remember who to try and look for a reply from you....tx