It’s Spring time! Inspirations for the balcony.
We have end of May. It’s green outside again, the birds are singing and the days are looong (in Norway the sun doesn’t really go down during summer and it is still super bright at 11PM during the summer months).
I love spring and summer and all the colors that come with it. I am a huge plant and flower lover and dream of having a house with a big garden to grow veggies, flowers and apple trees. But for the time being I am in love with our balcony, which is my little oasis during spring & summer.
I grow mostly flowers, but I usually have a lot of herbs and some tomato plants, and two years ago also some lettuce. I love having fresh greens outside which I can add to my salads and to freshly cooked meals, make herb butter and tea.
The above herbs grow perfectly on my balcony when it’s above 10 degrees and it is what I currently have outside. This year spring came early and I planted them already in mid April. When it gets warmer, I also have basil outside. Every year I tend to put it out too early, and often the first plant dies. Basil is just not resistent to lower temperatures and thrives best during summer when it is warm outside.
So how to use all these herbs best? I definitely prefer them freshly and harvest them directly when making a meal. I love using parsley, chives, oregano and basil for my salad. It does not only add all these extra flavors, but also lots of different vitamins. I also use chopped parsley, chives and oregano and mix it with vegan butter (you can of course use normal one) and make herb butter, which is super tasty on bread or with baked potatoes.
When I fry or bake veggies (for example: squash, pepper, asparagus, potatoes), I add thyme, oregano and rosemary and it makes the food so delicious. Rosemary goes especially well with baked potatoes.
I am an absolute tea lover and love drinking fresh mint tea. I feel that whenever something comes freshly from the garden (in my case the balcony), it has such a great taste. It also gives me the opportunity to really connect with the food, because I plant the herbs, watch them grow and take care of them, smell and touch them and then harvest them with gratitude.
So whether you have a big garden or just a small balcony, growing some herbs is possible and doesn’t require a lot of effort. I live in Norway and have definitely not the best weather conditions (long, cold winters & short summers), but my plants thrive outside and I have fresh herbs from the end of April until the beginning of October.
I hope I could share some inspiration with you. Thank you for reading this blog post & for being here.
Much love
Julia