Tuesday, June 12, 2012

On plants and balconies

I'm a city kid all the way through. I don't feel the urge to escape to the country nor do I feel like I need a backyard to be happy. I'm notoriously bad when it comes to taking care of plants, and have, admittedly, managed to kill a cactus.


However, there's one type of plant I have learned how to take care of; edible ones. It so seems that fresh herbs do tend to survive even in my care and are often used all through the summer. After thinking more about this, I've come to the conclusion that there are two reasons for this. The first and more obvious one is that these plants are outside and therefore infinitely easier to take care of than indoor plants. (There's sunshine and sometimes they get watered by the rain, my job is half done)

Secondly, and this is the important one, I love being able to use fresh ingredients in cooking. So fresh, that I just walk to the balcony and pick what I need. Now, I'm not going so far that I would dream of a place to plant a lot more veggies or something, just not my thing. I'm perfectly happy with what I have.

I grow herbs and have a tomato plant or a few. And there's only a few herbs I really want. I've had others, but in all honesty didn't really use them much. So, I have three herbs, basil (for pesto and salads), cilantro (for absolutely everything) and mint (for mojitos). 

It's an oddly satisfying feeling to know that I've grown some of the ingredients we're using in the kitchen, even if it's only a few small things. To be absolutely honest, I think this is just about the right amount of plant tending for me.

Right now I only have basil, a little bit of cilantro and one tomato plant. I'm probably getting a few more things, including that mint. I'm also thinking of getting a few more tomato plants, since there's space for a couple more.

The additional benefit to having those plants out there on the balcony is the added privacy. Even though we don't live on a busy street, it would still be nice to block at least the direct views to our place. So, more photos and info to come as I finish the set up.

Do you plants like these? Or something else? if so, what?

Oh, the last two photos can be found on my Instagram (like you couldn't tell)

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