You can take the girl out of the country..

but she'll still build a country on her bloomin' balcony!

I've decided to make a concerted effort to write here more frequently--the last post I managed to bum MYSELF out, so I thought I'd share some sunny pics of my mini container garden to cheer myself--and imaginary readers--up!
Here are some photos of my little walkway outside my apartment at the meeting point of Hollywood, K-town and Silver Lake.

If we're making up imaginary areas, I'm in East Hollywood, in the Bicycle District, a couple of blocks away from Hel-Mel, where  Scoops,  ,, The Bicycle Kitchen, & Against the Stream (a meditation center run by the Darma Punx), can be found.  If you don't live in LA, that was probably incomprehensible jibberish. The great part is, if you understood me, it was COMPREHENSIBLE jibberish! Teehee! 

Our balcony viewed from below

 and as you walk up..

This succulent on your left is our blooming aeonium -- had it for 3 or 4 years, this is the first time these strange beautiful flowers have appeared!

On your right, a plant stand from the 50's I ganked off of the street when I lived in echo park.. Top to bottom they're strawberry plants, 

a struggling jade, 3 different tomato plants (in the blue planter),  LemonadePetunias & a random fern.

Many of these were presents from friends, rooted from neighbors or found discarded by plant stores..so I don't always know the names of my creatures!

 This pile o plants are Mike's latest acquisitions--future honeydew melons-- with those stinkin' attention-seeking lemonade petunias sneaking into the shot! A couple of hours after I took this the top melon plant burst these tiny little fingernail sized yellow blossoms.  As for below, *makes grand sweeping gestures a la cheesy tour guides* 

    On your left you'll find our jade plant, which I scavenged as a tiny blown-off branch from my neighbor after a spring storm..

On your right a potato vine plant with pretty star shaped flowers, an ornamental purple pepper plant rooted from a Trader Joe's bouquet (!!),

..and my beloved 1960's bicycle, the best birthday present a girl's ever gotten.   I love my guy! We've both got brownish green thumbs because we're pretty forgetful--together we've got 2 green thumbs! 

You can't see it from the picture, but both this mini eggplant and pattypan squash plant have such lovely blossoms that I'll be content with no vegis! It's mid-July, should I give up hope?

Last but not least, hugging the corner we've got random succulents, a lovely star jasmine and 2 huge San Pedro cacti that were gifts from a friend who moved back to Detroit.  Each summer one of the cacti gets these HUGE night blooming flowers..

  Thus ends the two foot balcony garden tour.