(Don't know how to post multiple pictures in one post.)

This is our "pet" anole, Larry the Lounge Lizard. He pretty much hangs out every morning soaking up the sun on "his" lounge chair. ;)

Oops.

Thank you all for posting your pictures. Like you, I don't have a balcony but have a covered patio that serves the same purpose for me. Sorry, no pictures. But I've enjoyed looking at yours! Very nice. Isn't it fun to sit out surrounded by favorites? My new-to-me treat this year are two pots with mint, one spearmint. I love breaking off a tip of the plant and plopping into my morning tea. Life's good.

Lounge lizard - that's funny! Denise, it looks like we have very similar taste in pretty foliage. Love your porch and your "pot head" planter!

Glad you enjoyed, tempus. Life is good!

This little guy on a Begonia leaf was SO SMALL!!

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I'm constantly rearranging these pots, trying to solidify the "wall of foliage."

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purpleinopp, I love your wall of foliage. Have you every tried ornamental sweet potato vine? They're crazy easy to grow & root & are great for hanging planters. The bright green in a small planter on top of the table is called "Marguerite" but I call it "Cousin Itt" (for those old enough to remember the Addams Family.

This is the dark purple version called "Black Heart" with coleus "Dipt in Wine" and "Golda".

Yeah, I've switched over to colorful/interesting foliage because flowers hate me. ;)

I started my terrace this April when I moved in and spend every moment I have enjoying it and learning about and loving the plants!

My Impatiens before I think unfortunately the started to get burnt by the direct full sun!

Very pretty, Dreambee!

Loving these pics!

Denise, I love SP vine also and have it all over the yard but just not so much on the porch but lately it's growing so much in the yard that I've had plenty to snip and start new pots of it for the porch too. I have some flowers in the yard, mostly nectar plants for the butterflies and hummers, but traditional perennial gardening kind of bores me, waiting all year for plain green lumps and bumps to finally do their thing. Coleus is pretty from the day you "plant" it until the frost zaps it. No comparison, IMO.

Dreambee, I can see we're of like minds, I see your charcoal grill!

I keep moving stuff around, here's some shots from outside the porch looking toward it...

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A lot of the stuff on the steps when this pic was taken are usually up in the shade but I put them out there to get rained on.
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Here's some fairly new attempts to "decorate" the porch with SPV. You can't see it but I've got some fishing line around the inside at the top and around the outer support posts. As it gets long enough I plan to tuck/loop it around the fishing line. Not sure if that's apparent from these meager beginnings, but it didn't occur to me to do any sooner...

Put this together about a month ago:
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Just did this the other day, hope it's full enough to keep mosquitoes out:
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A bunch of little cuttings in water, and the spray bottle which I use on ME, trying to stay cool enough to spend some time out there:
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Sorry for taking so long to get in here. Had a busy few days and a rainy few days that kept getting in the way of my picture takin! You'll see daylilies and irises are my favorites. I grew the black-eyed susans, marigolds, and saphyr flax from seed.

Here are our front steps:

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A little section of the driveway:

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And just for fun---our refrigerator garden with a single airplant:

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I just started my balcony garden. I'm going to work on these plants and then continue on with window and railing planter. I have a lot of work with this plants right now though, the hibiscus tree I "rescued" has a light infestation of some bugs, I already applied the water-garlic-dishwashing soap mix and it seems like its on its way to recovery. I have to repot some and "pot up" others. Its a work in process, this is only one side of the balcony, I'm reserving the other side for another tree and other annuals maybe.
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jmo, love your pine tree and red Alternanthera. If memory serves, it will make tiny white flowers later.

May I ask, what is the plant in the middle, 3rd pic up from the bottom? Kinda looks like a standing-up-straight fern. Also curious about the plant with the tiny, round, almost-all-white leaves - is that Alternanthera versicolor 'Snowball'? I have a very short Alternanthera with pinkish leaves called "Joseph's coat." Wish the stores would bring in more of these, I think there's a bunch of them out there. They maintain their colors better in full sun than the Coleus I've tried.

Judging from the palm trees in the landscape, it looks like you're somewhere warm. Which way does your balcony face? It's a nice size one! You can use the GardenWeb zone finder (type your ZIP code in the box then hit enter.) If you include your zone (and also preferably your state abbreviation,) it will show up next to your name automatically when you post on GW forums.

Yayyy, I love pictures!

Rachelthepoet - you made me homesick for the iris & daylilys I left in Michigan. I had 17 varieties of daylilys when I sold that house.

jmo - like purpleinopp, I'm also wondering what is that weird (but way cool) plant?

I think we can all agree our porches/balconies are a continual work in progress. I look at pictures I took in spring and somehow all my planters seem to have moved around by themselves...

Keep the pictures coming, folks.

Purpleinopp: Thank you! The plant you're asking about is called a foxtail fern. Its very popular here in Miami, Florida where it is grown in beds close to one's house for decoration. I'm new to gardening but from my understanding, when it blooms, it is a "white-ish" color, as the plant matures it turns a nice green. Really lovely, although the roots can grow quite rapidly and it requires a re-pot every so often.

The small plant with almost white leaves is called a snowbush (breynia disticha). It retains its white color and brightens up any garden.

About the alterbanthera; I have actually been posting on here because I needed to find out what it was called. Someone mentioned that it could be an alteranthera. I'm still trying to find out information on it, others have mentioned that it could be a sand cherry among other names.

I live in Miami, Florida, inland close to the everglades. I am in zone 10, which limits me quite a bit actually. I'm originally from Colombia but I was raised in Chicago so I miss maples, willows, etc, things that I would probably not be able to grow down here.

My "garden" is still a work in process. I need to buy pots and things to decorate with. My Norfolk pine started it all, it is around 4 years old if not more. Thanks!

I forgot to mention that my balcony faces north. I get no morning sun but I receive blazing sun after about 4 pm (weather permitting). It usually rains in the afternoon here in Miami during the summer. I tend to receive the most sunlight sometime around October where the sun is not hidden by the trees Northwest or the building west of my balcony (you can sort of see this in the first picture). My hibiscus is sunlight hungry so that's why I placed it in the corner that receives the most light.

I;m reserving the other side for a dwarf Japanese maple I'm going to try and grow. I don't know how well that will go though, the problem would be the lack of chill hours yearly.

I love the pictures on here, keep them commming! Thanks

jmo, I'm pretty sure that's an Alternanthera dentata cultivar, but not sure which one, possibly 'Purple Knight' which was always red when I've had it, probably too much sun. The foxtail fern is so cool! Don't think they are hardy here, I think I would notice those just driving by people's yards. I would love to work with the "limits" of zone 10!

The Brenia is so pretty! Looks just like the Alternanthera I had:

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Denise, totally agree about "work in progress!" My honey made me a cool bench/table thing for the porch so I rearranged a lot of stuff. I should take a pic of it. I'm sure I will soon, when I get it "like I like it," for a minute.

Lovin' this new table!

Yesterday on the front porch.

purpleinopp : Nice new table! Perfect for the conch shell and some smaller plants.

Thanks! I was thrilled when he brought it home from work!

Here's a shot in the dark... There's not a wall there, it was just raining really hard!

Wow, your "wall of foliage" is filling in nicely!

Thanks! It's been extremely enjoyable to "do" and to sit and enjoy.

JMO Love al your plants and your balcony/porch.But can you tell me if the orange flowers are crocosmaia,and what is the multi colored grass next to it.I have a pot of the grass also,however mine has been kept indoors for years and i just repotted it this week as it was root bound.I've also been thinking about moving it outside,just don't know if i should or not as i sure don't want to kill it.TIA
Kathi

JMO, came back for another look at people's pics and noticed your variegated Schefflera. That's pretty, too!

Might as well add a pic while I'm here, when I sit here, people walking by don't notice me usually.

my balcony at the end of may:jades, ivies, crotons and 2 hydrangeas just bought.

that was taken at the end of april, before the chairs went out.

Wow you are really up there, Petrushka!!! I love everything - the beautiful healthy plants, the comfortable looking chairs with such pretty covers, the view! A soothing little spot in the midst of all of that steel and glass.

Do I see a nice, tall Sansevieria sticking up behind the chair? Are the pink flowers Cyclamen?

Excellent!

These are awesome! As a balcony gardener, I totally feel a porch garden is acceptable :P I haven't checked in here in a few months. Obviously I need to do so more often!

Julianna, hi. Hope you'll have a chance to share some pics soon!

I actually feel more challenged because there is no railing to prevent the wind from sometimes sending plants plummeting about 3 feet off the edge. I've thought of putting fishing line around, a few inches up, but am afraid human or canine will forget it's there & do a header off of there. I'm a spaz enough to do it myself within an hour of putting it up. Maybe next spring I'll put a proper wooden rail up.

hi, purple. are you also PI? i am just starting to play with my pics - have to make them smaller , so you can't quite see what's there. you spotted barely visible sansi! that's just transplanted and sitting there for rejuve - even in that dark corner it gets better light then in my sunniest western window, go figure. and yes, the cyclies were there after winter blues indoors, just getting to flower. i shift stuff constantly for better display. here's looking back towards the door in june: caladiums came out and coleus is taking off.

" are you also PI?"
Sorry, I'm not sure what you're asking?

I move stuff almost daily too. The sun keeps reaching farther and farther under the porch roof.

LOVE your new pic! Beautiful display, especially pretty Caladiums. Are those Amaryllis leaves to the far right?

PI - that's my misunderstanding, thought may be it's an abbrev for your name..
yah, in the back are 2 calamondins,then a pot with amaryllis - that's my sunniest corner (4 hours at most for 4 weeks) - am facing north, so only get a little ne sun for 3 months. then coleus with petunias/ivy pot stuck in a big pot with english ivy that survived last very mild winter. and upfront coleus/ ivy and sep pot with caladiums. i stagger everything in towers and swap for better display. the petunia on the right is stuck in ivy in sep 24oz pot and caladiums are hidden under ivy stand and also on top of spider plant. the algerian (or canary) ivy is actually behind the chair - it's my most successful placement of it ..3rd year trial. before never grew so well.
am trying to figure out the best pic size . so here's the same corner a few weeks before the caladiums went out. the amaryllis pot was on top of petunia pot - i lifted that and put it behind and planted coleus in the big petunia pot. hope i am not boring you with my details. but since it's not very active here - i am usurping the attention :)

my upkeep of plants is pretty intense. but i like to see a tapestry of green - sort of uninterrupted 3d surface, like green walls, but 'hilly'. i have a book by t hobbs 'shocking beauty' that i find very inspirational. so i like to keep pots hidden and stack them and nest them in various ways. here's a close up of one corner.
with ivy on a high tripod stand,caladiums under the stand with ivy supporting and hiding the stems and also caladiums on top of spider planter, but they are not planted in. so that creates a high tower-mound. and there are 2 more ivies: algerian ivy behind the chair with trailing fronds and asterisk ivy all mounded and drooping to the ground on far right. and little red petunia nested into ivy in 24oz 'yoghurt type' container. looks like ivy is blooming. this corner at height of summer gets maybe 3 hours of sun 7am-10am . nothing but petunias can take it. not even begonias. i tried. petunia's red fades to pinkish red that is closer to caladium pink, so they actually go together quite well.

Absolutely love it and am amazed at what you can do "up in the air" like that! I never intend to buy Petunias but am sometimes seduced by their smell and end up with some most years. Love the pics!!!!!

thanks, purple. believe it or not, close to half of those plants will be coming indoors soon - then it'll be jungle time!

I know, the same thing happens here. Almost time to move the wildness inside!

it's all coming in NOW, curtesy Sandy! all the sprayings all the cleanings.... have to make sure not to bring too many scales, mites,etc. have to clear most out by tonite - we got much higher wind 'upstairs', though since it's a loggia it's protected. but i don't want anything to snap or keel over.

we got thru sandy ok - i left 2 mums and montauk daisy + some ivies on the balcony and they were perfectly fine , not even ragged. oh, coleus got beaten up, as expected, but it was time for it to go. now ivies cyclies and spiders are back, even though it was 37f last nite. going on 34F tonite, will grab the cyclies - they are just beginning to throw lots of buds. the best show will be in december indoors. we had electricity all the time and no water for 6 days, but most plants were watered well before.

Glad to hear you were spared the kind of damage they're showing on the news!!

Oh man, over the next few days I need to move all of the potted plants inside and take Coleus cuttings to save for next spring. Nighttime lows are are getting into the danger zone. Bittersweet...! The porch will be naked except for a big pot with some dwarf snaps and pansies.

i don't like to see my balcony empty. i get a few mums and kales/cabbages and leave 1 big pot of english ivy too. the kales look good even in feb. and then for xmas i add a country twig wreath, ribbons,etc. it looks good, especially with some snow. but i gave up on evergreens: hinoki died 2nd year, jap yew died 3rd year. montauk daisies though pull thru just fine, but they get such a slow start and look so ugly in spring that i usually chuck them in march.

That sounds nice, inspiring! Since there's no room inside for a Christmas tree, decorating the porch with one would be perfect. Will see what DH thinks.

The jungle has moved inside, and it definitely frosted. Hardly room to walk around in here. The porch looks HUGE now, just a table and chairs out there. Is it spring yet!

Here is mine from a few months ago... Most of the plants went in May-August, so it's very new. The last pic is from the very beginning just to show it from the ground passer-by level. It's north-facing and recessed. I get almost no direct sunlight. It's bright though, and I've decided to focus on scented plants and fruit. I have passiflora, strawberries, herbs, hedychium, jasmine, hyacinths, daffodils, viola odorata, snowdrops, crocus (saffron and pickwick), grape hyacinths, toad lilies, anemones, sedums, sempervivums, lycoris radiata, ostrich ferns, maidenhair ferns, lamium, lilies of the valley, liriope, celmatis (sweet autumn-- just ordered so it's on its way), viola sororia and other violas, some annual vines, moss, ajuga, setcreasia, artemesia, begonia heron's pirouette, tuberous begonias and asparagus ferns in the baskets, gloriosa lilies, stargazer lilies, and currently pansies in my boxes between things.

I sowed aquillegia and peony poppy seeds with other violets as well. I will add nasturtiums and various impatiens/balsam in the spring with some other anuals like morning glories and moonvines. I'm eying some more strawberries, herbs, and scented geraniums. I, naturally, have no room for these things.

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With the sweet autumn, I am going to put it on the right side (our right as we look at that pic) and try to train it to cover that side's walls, maybe over the doors, and on the ceiling. I have one mirror on the balcony and am considering more. I can reflect sun to other parts, adding to the light I receive. It's a thought, anyway.

It's awesome to look at these pics on a gray, cold, windy day. Thanks for sharing them! I love your Streptocarpella. I am also mentally planning for this summer, can't wait! Hope yours is even more beautiful than what you imagine!

Purple-- thanks! It's actually triple that size now. I brought it in, and it is continuing to bloom. I am hoping for a bush next season lol! Looking at all those older pics I see how brown tipped and ratty things looked after being shipped and then planted. I am also hoping that this year, we can have nice leaves :) New gardens always look a bit off. That's OK!

Awesome! I had one of these once and still miss it dearly. I killed it by putting it in too little light inside for winter and then probably finished it off with too much water, back in my peat days.

For great leaves in that low light, you might also like sweet potato vine, more Coleus, Begonias, Syngonium, Tradescantia zebrina and spathacea, Cordyline fruticosa... Looking at your pics again, I think I see a big Monstera near the door (in the pic looking at the other building from inside your place.) THOSE are cool leaves!

I had one before and didn't appreciate it. i let it winterkill, and then this time when i thought about getting one, I couldn't find any. i had to go across the state for some reason and ended up finding one there. Now this one is treasured lol.

I think the leaves on my plants will look better this next season. They were brown and partially killed from shipping stress-- it was over 100 when they were all shipped and they cooked in boxes. In the doorway I do have my giant philodendron-- P. bipinnatifidum. It's about 6ft across and 5ft tall. It does well there in the living room, and that to me is a decent indication of my light. It only gets light from outside of any decent measure, and it's grown in size since it has been there.I thought about putting it out on the balcony, but then I got too many other interesting things to really go along with that idea :P Plus moving it sucks.

I am not happy with my sempervivums. They are doing fine and even multiplying, but I think I may move them elsewhere and tuck them into planters. This would give me a whole new empty pot to be filled with something different. I may put my tuberous begonias in there instead of putting them in my hanging baskets. Or maybe I'll put an alpine strawberry in there. That sounds even better!