Britta's Letters from her life divided between city-life in German's capital Berlin and life in a Bavarian village

Monday 23 May 2016

My Balconysitter

©Brigitta Huegel
Dear You, 
oh yes, I have one when I plan a travel: a balconysitter - and I am utterly glad about that!
See: Berlin has seen no rain for over a month. Trees are thirsty. And on my balcony - which is quite huge: 5 metres x 1.60m - there are lots and lots of flowering plants. One of my 5 roses has already opened three flowers:

©Brigitta Huegel


Augusta Luise - not only beautiful, but with a luscious scent that makes you swoon!
I sit in the early morning there and drink my first cup of tea. And am reassured now, because the young guy will have time to water my flowers (I/he/the flowers need about 5 cans with 5 litre water per day). When I am in Budapest, it is a nice little job for him, and a godsend for me.

©Brigitta Huegel

Above you see about half of my balcony. Time for a little mouthful? You're welcome! 




24 comments:

  1. Your balcony looks so pretty Britta and needs to be looked after when you are on your travels.
    Our daughter has just come back from Berlin and our son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren have been often. All love it as we did when we went !! XXXX

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    1. Thank you, Jackie! Did your daughter like it in Berlin? And when you come to it: see what I wrote as the last sentence of this post!

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  2. The flowers on your balcony are gorgeous. I can almost smell them from here... And best thing? You don't have to spend a lot of time weeding that garden. (I keep telling myself that weeds are nothing more than wildflowers, but I still have to yank them out of the garden far more often that I'd like, which is never...)

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    1. Thank you, Susan! No - weeding is not the problem (I have a book called "A Little Light Weeding" - by Richard Briers - saw his garden once). As I have created and tended to a huge garden before, I know the endless fight - especially against ground elder/ashweed...

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  3. What a lovely big balcony and nice to see it full of flowers. It is always a problem when you go away, worrying that the plants will survive till you come back, so it is good you have someone to take care of it all for you.

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    1. Thank you, Elaine! Yes, for a balcony it is quite comfortable (and it is protected left and right by walls from the bowfront, and the balcony above - facing South-West). With plants it is a bit as with pets - that is the reason why I don't have a cat - yet. Too much travelling.

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  4. I would not like to lose any one of those lovelies to neglect.

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    1. Me neither, Joanne. So I am glad that the son of my friend will take over.

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  5. Your plants are beautiful. The flowers are just now coming into their own here.

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    1. Thank you, Emma! Yes, they flower soon here this year - roses in mid-May - a bit early, I think.

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  6. Dear Brigitta, I delight in your balcony. The plants look like they are all friends of one another.

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    1. Thank you, Geo. - a big compliment from a gardener! I care especially about the roses, the vine (it bears sometimes delicious bunches of musky dark sweet grapes - but only a few) - in short: everythings that "returns" next year. That is what I miss especially from a real garden - to know what will come - and yet be surprised when it appears.

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  7. Lovely display.

    I've just put the fly-screens up. The 'mucken' are about! Today it's raining in buckets.

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    1. Thank you, Gwil! As I live on the second floor, I'm glad that there are not many Mücken - though I have to look out for wasps (one year they tried to build a nest in a pot on my balcony...)

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  8. Or better said: It's bucketing down.

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    1. We had a huge deluge yesterday night - at 22:00 I went and took all pots on the balcony sill down - because the wind was heavy and it hailed.

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  9. Have a wonderful trip to Budapest - glad you have someone to take care of your precious balcony plants whilst you are away. I always find the plants a problem, and tend to move my haning baskets from the front of the house to a shady spot in the back garden hoping that they will survive.

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    1. Thank you, Rosemary, but I canceled it (the trip to B.).
      As to hanging baskets: I admired them in England, took many photos - but was never successful with them.

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  10. It looks like my balcony, I had to show husband and he agrees. Even the size looks the same, but then, I presume, all city balconies look alike. I too, like you, have flowers hanging around the wall and on window sills. We also have a round table (a little bigger) with four chairs where we like to have our dinners. We have sun-shade curtains that automatically roll down to keep the balcony, which is south-facing, a little cooler in the summer and, of course, also for more privacy. But, my flowers are not putting up such a beautiful display as yours are doing. Ufortunately, I've been neglecting them for the pass few weeks now - I should pull up my socks! Anyway. Complimenti, per il tuo bellissimo balcone fiorito!

    Have a good trip, Britta. :)
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Dear Maria, I am happy to read that we both spend part of our day in similar surroundings! In Germany the width of balcony differs enormously: in Hamburg once we had a little handkerchief of a balcony, high up in the air (fifth floor - without an elevator..) - but it was funny: place for two chairs - and quite a lot of flowers, I managed to squeeze them in :-) You have sun-shades, that is great - sometimes I'm thinking of a little sun-umbrella - but privacy we have in summer when the tress in front of the houses go green. (but gladly not as high as to put us into darkness). Only the neighbour beneath us has very sharp ears :-)
      Greetings, Britta x

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    1. Thank you, Susan! I know you have a beautiful garden, but both locations give us flowers for little vases.

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  12. we are visiting to my home town so many miles away from my home and it always makes me worry about my garden as who will look after it when i will be not here but thanks too my brother in law who lives near will visit and water regularly then

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    1. Dear Baili, a warm welcome here! Yes - a garden and longer travels are not the easiest pair to match - though in a garden one can always hope for rain. Good to have a relative, or, in my case: the son of a friend who likes to earn a bit pocket money.

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