Garden: My first carrot!

I was thinning my small windowbox full of carrot greens, and pulled out a real carrot!

The carrot was just a little baby carrot, and we ate 'em straight away.  Tasty. :D

Good Morning, Gladiola!

I awoke today to find that my slightly beat-up balcony garden had presented me with yet another unexpected gift!  Here's what the gladiolas have to offer.  I'm not sure if this is the pink or purple corm, but I was so pleased to have these blooms in my life.  I am in looove with their color.  What would you call this color?

gladiolas grace the garden

Garden Goodies

I was off to a late start planting my anemone corms/bulbs.  When they all got root rot, I thought they were goners even after replanting them all with more sand mixed in the soil.  So, I was really pleased to see that even through my follies I have one bloom!  Also, I'm glad I took a photo when I did because later that day (yesterday) there was an insane hail storm that tore the flower up.  Poor thing.

Anemone "Mr Fokker"

The latest drama in the balcony garden flower boxes...
I had to replant all the anemone corms to stave off rot because I didn't mix in enough sand for drainage.  Then as soon as the anemones started sprouting healthy shoots, a gang of entrepreneurial ants started using my oxalis plant as an aphid farm.  Then a spider set up shop between and above the flower boxes and likely ate my little ladybug larvae that I bought to stave off the aphid farm.  Or maybe it was the crazy grasshopper chewing on my pepper plants and then shedding its exoskeleton on my gladiolas--maybe he ate my aphid-eating ladybug larvae!  Gardening drama is so much fun.

Oxalis "Iron Cross"

In pepper news, the pepper plants I picked up from a generous dude who had too many are doing really well.  I have tons of green chiles and jalapeños.  I think I may leave some jalapeños on the plant and see if they turn red... I usually don't have enough patience to wait for true maturation.

Plentiful Jalapeño peppers