balkong, i'll tell you what i tried to keep on the balcony in winter. japanese yew - smallish, about 12" pot. overwintered twice/bloomed, then died 3rd year. hinoki false cypress - overwintered once. reg english ivy - died sev years when it was dropping into low teens; survived well last winter. this winter should be ok too - so hardy to 17F, sort of? it's in the biggest 18" pot. hydrangeas - overwintered once, but then bloomed very weakly. so not much point. montauk daisy overwinters well in 12" pot, burried in soil in 16" pot . so for me it's good. it even blooms 2nd year farely well. but then i chuck it, since it's weak. overwintered oriental lilies: stargazers once: wrapped the pot in big bubble and then covered with cardboard box overturned and lined in plastic. but easier to just dig in new ones in spring. oh, mums of course survive - but with NE sun won't really bloom. may be with your west sun corner they will fare better. that's about it for me. i had clematis on a diff balcony facing east/south-east. it did not survive winter though. also juniper survives, but it needs sun. may be SW corner will do. This post was edited by petrushka on Sat, Apr 13, 13 at 14:09

Awwwww. Precious litrle sphinx! You know me and the Sphinx, right? It looks like you may have a male, abdomen tipped upwards. Females hang straight down. Darn! I was going to suggest a paper bag for egg laying. Wild Cherry is the larval host. Great find! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Paonias myops, Small Eyed Sphinx

I don't understand such thoughtlessness~am I the only one that seems to feel people simply don't *think* anymore? When Mom/Dad had company every chair from the DR and kitchen were dragged into the LR as that was the largest room so company congregated there. Mom always used the coffee table for cheese/ crackers, and warm o'rderves in the kitchen. People would get up and move about, but there were always enough chairs for a butt to land. I've pretty much adopted her habits. If you're the hostess and you see a guest/guests swaying from side to side because their feet are giving out, take the inside chairs outside. If you're a guest, ask to take a chair on the patio, please. Like I said, *think*ing~seems to have gone to the dogs. ;)

Hello mazelady! Leenamark is right, you should be fine as long as you make sure you put on two or thee coats. Another thing you can do to prolong its life is to keep an eye on the weather and if it is suppose to storm really hard just bring them in real quick. You would be amazed how much just doing this for those big summer storms will prolong the life of any patio furniture! Another option is to go out and buy a cover for them, those also work wonders! Hope this helps!