a trail of green

the garden pieces from crate and barrel make me want to go to a nursery and pick out lush looking trailing plants. well luckily, i am going to a nursery! here is where i'll be saturday afternoon, celebrating my birthday with my whole family. i'll breathe in some fresh nursery air for you!

i don't know if i'm committing to flowers this year...last year, they were more pressure than they were enjoyment. i think i might just stick with the green stuff. but i'll certainly enjoy looking at the colorful bounty and helping my parents make their floral choices.

for my balcony, i'm thinking sweet potato vines (above) because i love their limey, lush look. and another favorite -- the vinca vine (below). they grow a million miles a day and they always look healthy.

and i might add in some coleus and spikes for good measure.

i miss my old balcony (A LOT), but i'm getting to know my new one. what's nice about having only one outdoor space on the small-ish side is that i can create an impactful, abundant look without having to buy too much. as i've learned in recent years, creating a lovely, living outdoor space can get very pricy (and very addictive).

here are some of my favorite pictures of the balcony of our last apartment, and i'm looking forward to creating something special in our new one too.

i need the little space i create to be a good one - its where i like to begin and end most days when the weather is nice, and it's a refuge of the loveliest kind, because it's not closed between four walls, but instead is out in the world surrounded by trees and birds and the freshest of air.

do you have an outdoor refuge?

top two photos from www.crateandbarrel.com, sweet potato vine photo from www.laikipiawest.org, vinca and coleous photos from www.flickr.com, all other photos original