Spring is showering new growth on all the plants in the garden! I couldn’t even find space to fit the photos of the cress in this post, let alone growing space on my balcony. They’re growing some sort of seed stalks so tall that the plants are falling over. Most everything else seems to be doubling in size each week, if they haven’t already finished growing.
Most startling of all is perhaps the sunflower, which has reached its full height of about a foot. It’s the most stout sunflower I think I’ve ever seen, and I hope it makes many seeds for me to plant again. The thyme is another stunner, somehow reversing from its prior, tidy size to jump out to a massive hedgehog of herb.
If you’ve got a garden you want to show off, don’t hesitate to write your own Six on Saturday post! They’re easy to make and I’d certainly enjoy taking a look at more gardens. If you want to learn how they work, check out where it all started!
1
I think this is the first time I’ve really looked up close at a sunflower as it develops. This flower is getting on in weeks, and I’m not sure how long it has left to live. While it’s alive, it’s working hard at making as many tiny flowers (florets?) all across its big blossom. Each of these tiny flowers is an honest-to-goodness flower, though only the outer row have petals; and even then, only one petal each. I’m hoping that the open bulb shape of each of these tiny flowers means that they’re all planning on becoming a seed. That means I could have nearly a hundred of these lovely flowers next year!
2
This time doesn’t know when it’s time to quit. I pruned back around 1/3 of the plant at the end of Winter, hoping that it would grow a nice fresh set of leaves. Instead, it decided to grow a dozen arms high into the sky, somehow doubling its height while growing a little wider. The plant is so wide now that it casts deep shade on itself! I’m thinking that the shady side of the plant has retaliated against the sunny side by sending up these taller stems, which have recently run into a roadblock via the table. This thyme has become as tall as my balcony table. I didn’t think it would ever get so out of hand. If anyone can think of a thyme-heavy recipe, I will try my hand at it. I seriously need to find a need for a few pounds of fresh herbs.
3
After the five-sided war of the hummingbirds in late march, the feeder got a stretch of calm. Not a long stretch, mind you. These are hummingbirds. New visitors have started to show up at odd hours, twittering their little song and sending a hum so loud that it reaches through closed windows. They sound happy, but I know they’ll turn mad if they ever run low on food. With Hummin’eezer Scrooge-bird having passed this last winter, the seat is open for the next generation of tiny sugar birds. None seem to have truly claimed it as their home, but I feel like this nameless bird might be thinking of closing on the property.
4
Despite how many tiny olive flowers have sprung up, I still have no olives. I know that I’m being impatient, and it probably takes much longer than a week to grow an olive… but I also really want to eat one that’s been grown at home. I’m hoping that the wildflowers in a nearby pot will blossom soon, drawing in more hummingbirds and bees to get this tree pollinated. Olive trees are grown naturally all over the PV hill, but many are a non-fruiting variety. Or they’re just unlucky. Right now I’m just crossing my fingers that the tree doesn’t get black scale again, gets pollinated, and doesn’t fall over in a stiff wind. Really, nature, that’s all I’m asking for. That and tasty olives.
5
I finally got around to giving the polka dot plant a heavy pruning. It hadn’t stopped flowering for months, and was only growing taller and narrower. Every time I pruned a stem, it seemed to regrow as yet another flower-bearing stalk. It was finally time for a serious haircut. I trimmed almost half of the tallest stalks down to near the dirt. A bundle of new sprouts had been manifesting in between all the taller stalks while they were flowering. With the extra light (and probably the extra available nutrients), they sprang up at a pace hitherto unseen. It won’t be too long before they’re tall enough to start making flowers, too!
6
The next generation of succulents are getting growing! They took root pretty quickly – probably the lovely Spring weather. It also helps that I’ve turned one of the troughs over to their living, which is a better place than the old jiffy grow kit lid. Their roots never had a chance for any depth in the lids, and the soil dried out in a few days. In their new home, the succulent cuttings have been multiplying in abundance. Maybe this is a way I could grow very dense succulents? Short root for a while, then plant in deeper dirt to spread out. I’ll have to grow more to find out!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a pleasant time checking out the plants. If you’re in the mood for more nature, please stay in touch!
Mindful Foliage 
Your hummingbird feeder is v pretty!
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