Garden Update

The balcony garden was driving me crazy ever since we had to put the tarps down. The tarps are wrinkly and the wood floor is uneven, and contribute to water pooling. Runoff water would run down to a part of the tarp and pool in different areas of the balcony instead of running off the shingles like it was supposed to. Even in the high heat the water would not evaporate, and when it did, it would leave a yucky crust. Enough with the whining.
On Saturday afternoon, I finally decided to re-arrange and Tom helped me devise a system to drain the water. The system is not completely successful, but at least the pools are contained in one area. By the time we were done, we were both dripping sweat, and I had some early signs of heat sickness (we're having an awful summer mid 90s everyday - did I mention that I hate southern summers?). While we now have a more defined seating area, we aren't going on the balcony except to water the plants.

The plants: the cilantro didn't make it. The aphids are still feasting on the peppers, but they haven't stopped the peppers from flowering. The marigolds are doing well, but the gladiolus don't seem very happy. I picked the last strawberries and there are no signs of other flowers on the plant. The lettuces are hanging in there, trying to survive the heat.