urban gardening

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Trough for a balcony

flower trough

I took advantage of the sunny weather yesterday, during a welcome break from the rain, to plant up some pots. This is my budget trough for the balcony. I'm not sure how much weight the balcony can take so I used a plastic trough to be lighter.  I got this one from freecycle. I planted thyme and rosemary I bought on special at the supermarket. The small seedlings are cerinthe I grew from seed I collected last summer and larger seedlings on the right are agastache (I think) that I planted last summer. I put some shells I had at the back. They said on GW last year not to grow edibles near a busy road but I decided the amount of toxins in the small amount of herbs that would be eaten is not worth worrying about.

thyme

I had a second thyme and thought I'd see how it does in this pot. It would be nice to have it growing in the garden all the time. I found I had a lot of unused shells so I put them around the plant.

Shrubs near the pavement

My front garden being right on a busy pavement in London I found that passing pedestrians pulled off (and even cut) every single flower (and thick wooden stems) from the star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) I had planted to shield the unplesant view of my rubbish and recycling bins. I decided it had to be moved or else it wouldn't survive and I'd never have any flowers from it to enjoy.

Trachelospermum jasminoides

I planted a couple of buddlejas in its place. They had self-seeded in the back garden so were free and being quite a common plant (often considered a weed) I don't think passersby will be desperate to take pieces of it and even if they do it grows quickly or I hope it does as it's looking a bit pathetic so far.

buddleja