One Friday afternoon, a few weeks ago, I hand painted one of our balcony walls. I actually wanted to stencil it but went freehand instead.

Not very good at sketching, this is how my effort turned out.

This past Sunday was World Kitchen Gardener Day. Never knew they had a day like that. Wow! It can work wonders for a garden aficionado like me to indulge in pictures of herb gardens from around the world and get hands dirty.

Imagine. Herbs like betel leaves, basil and ajwain from your own balcony to soothe your sore throat. Dhania to garnish the tomato and basil salad. And some hot chillis again from the pots to add spice to your life. Right now, the plants in my balcony are capable of doing just these.

The idea of eating fresh, pesticide-free produce as good looking as this gives me goose bumps.

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Everyone has a favorite corner in their house; a place where you’d like to unwind, go to the first thing in the morning, sip a cup of tea in the evening, or spread the morning newspaper with breakfast on Sunday mornings . My sanctuary is my balcony garden. What’s yours?

It’s only natural that I’m constantly thinking of ways to spruce my hangout. There have been some new additions to the balcony.

It’s actually a wooden plant holder with a rugged look that I used to store brushes for painting the pots.

I love hanging pots but never had one. We got two wrought iron holders with butterfly design. The plant has grown rapidly since this picture was taken. Every day there are about 20-25 flowers and it’s a pretty sight.

Next I would like to get two rattan chairs with colorful cushions and a tea table. Got any ideas to glamorize the garden?

I’m happy that the cold is slowly receding giving way to pleasant weather. But that’s not what I want to share with you all today. I have some very exciting news for you : our balcony garden is thriving and the tomatoes are ready for picking. Woohoo! We - my son and I - the gardeners of the house plan to pick the first harvest of the season tomorrow.

If you recollect, I wrote about five vegetables to grow in balconies last summer. We lost tomato saplings twice in succession to some annoying rodents in the balcony. We turned lucky the third time and the plants have survived month-long vacation, weather changes among other things to grow into mature plants.

This is how the plants looked mid-January. In the first week of December, when we left for vacation, the plant was growing real fast, almost a feet and half tall. When we returned on 2nd January, I noticed two teeny-tiny green spheres and a few flowers. Was I excited? You bet. Within days, the spheres grew big into these tomatoes and one other flower transformed into a fruit. But all that magical growth stopped suddenly for three weeks. They didn’t grow bigger nor did they ripe.The leaves weren’t looking healthy any more. They turned yellow and eventually dried.

Some organic compost I did caused a imbalance I guess. So last Sunday, I added two spoons of milk so that the plant gets some calcium. And before we know, the growth was back; the tomatoes started turning red.

This is the transformation I was talking about. Look at the changes between Sunday and today. How are your tomato plants faring? Can we hear about some vegetable garden stories here?

Pictures of some blooms in my balcony today:

Orange Hibiscus

Fragrant Jasmine

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Worried about the state of those lovely Gerberas and Dahlias in your balcony garden? Are your plants turning yellow and brown in turns? Do they look lifeless? Water, repotted soil, ample sunlight, no pests  - a quick look at the checklist says everything’s taken care of.  So, what’s killing them? It’s easy to step over the fine line between caring for plants and overdoing it. As Stephanie Donaldson says, our kindness can prove fatal for houseplants. Over-watering or lack of water are the most common reasons for healthy houseplants dying with a couple of weeks after being brought from the nursery.

Look at the images below.

Drowning plant

If your plants look anything like this, then it is an indication of overwatering. Take a closer look at the leaves. Towards the bottom of the plant, close to its roots, the leaves have turned yellow, and the plant is bent outside.

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