The Balcony Gardener: The Turkey That Wasn’t
Photo by Zdeněk Macháček The Balcony Gardener was halfway through carving her pumpkin when Madame Dupont called across from her window. “Don’t make it too frightening. Monsieur Bernard already…
The Balcony Gardener: Tomatoes, Basil and a Matter of Bread
October had arrived on the balcony with cool mornings, pale sunlight, and the unmistakable feeling that the growing season was beginning to pack its bags. The tomatoes, however, had…
Poetry: Someone Has Been Borrowing Me
Photo by mohadese marvi There seems to be a woman who visits the house at night. She waits until everything is quiet— Teddy asleep, the street emptied of footsteps,…
The Balcony Gardener: The Matter of the Amaranth
The amaranth arrived in a brown paper packet with no name on it. The Balcony Gardener found it propped against her door one morning in early June. Inside were a…
The Balcony Gardener: Heat, Blueberries and the Vapors
Photo by Mike Perry By the first week of August, the balcony had forgotten what coolness felt like. The morning sun arrived far too early and settled itself among…
The Balcony Gardener: The Sunflower Fusion
Photo by Sonia June had entered its unreasonable phase. The jasmine no longer climbed so much as advanced. During the night, it appeared to make private decisions of its…
The Balcony Gardener: A Question of Depth
Photo by Amin Safaripour The Balcony Gardener and Madame Dupont sat side by side on the balcony in the clear light of a Paris spring morning. It was close…
The Balcony Gardener: A Season of Possibility and Improbability
The Balcony Gardener loved April. Spring had arrived again, and with it came a quiet accumulation of ideas for the new season’s balcony garden. April did not require announcement. It…
The Balcony Gardener: The Ides of Basil
Photo by Paul Steuber March arrives as it always does—with ambition slightly out of proportion to available space. The Balcony Gardener draws up three lists. Seeds to order. Seeds…
The Balcony Gardener: The Case of the Emerald Afternoon
The Balcony Gardener and her beloved dog Teddy were enjoying a patch of late January sun that had wandered, briefly, into February’s jurisdiction. Teddy lay with his chin on his…