The previous owners gifted us with some balcony items: two chairs and a small table, two teal planters, and three small flower boxes. All of the pieces are heavy enough for our can-get-very-windy outdoor space. Last year, we were too busy to do a late-season garden, so this is our first.
For the bigger planters, we got lilac Armeria, yellow daisies, pink daisies, and violet Rock Cress. We bought a smaller planter that matches for a single rosemary. The smaller planters and a tower we bought will be filled with herbs and small veggies: parsley, basil, thyme, kale, lettuce, and broccolini. We are also going to add chives, garlic, shallots, and celery from organic produce we buy.
Last year, I crunched some weather data and came up with May 6th as a “magic” safe date. I wanted us to move after the last freeze for less of a system shock. Garden season in Denver is Zone 5b-6a and is of course wildly different than Austin’s 8b-9a. The gardening rules here revolve around May holidays: Mother’s Day (May 8th/9th this year and last, I was darn close!) is the last day likely to freeze and Memorial Day is likely safe from the last frost. We are getting cooler temps and rain (and maybe snow again) this week, so holding out for the last day is important.
The smaller herbs are being spoiled with sun and attention in our east-facing kitchen window. The flowers for the largest planters are in boxes near our window wall.




It’s chilly but sunny today, so it’s tempting to re-pot a few and put them out there. Sooooo tempting.