In the past few days if seems I have gotten many new surprised from my balcony garden. Yet again patience has payed off as I was hoping it would. It seems every time I finally say that I will throw out that plant that just must be dead with all these months of no life, it comes alive.

I'll post pictures later. I keep going out when the sun just washes my photos out no mater what exposure I put it to. Anyways my bonsai Jacqueline Hillier Elm is alive! I had really thought it would be dead. Just a few days ago I looked at the roots of the little tree and thought for sure if must be dead. I noticed some new growth on the bottom of the tree. This new growth I will have to cut/pinch off because it's close to the base and well that's not wanted in bonsai. There is a bud forming on the top so I will wait long to see if it will bust out with leaves. During fall it started to get new leaves and was looking great but then the winter stripped it of it's leaves. I was scared I had lost it. I really love the little Elm's pretty leaves they are the cutest and so tiny the size of a pinky nail.

I have been patiently awaiting for my caladium to sprout. I was worried that I had planted it a few weeks too early and that the bulb had rooted. It has sprouted and I am excited to get a caladium finally. I still wonder what kind I got and if it was white wing for sure. The nursery I got it from has those open boxes and I'm scared I might have picked up one of the neighboring ones. Just want to make sure what I have so I can put it in the right conditions. I might just put it out by the front door or keep it on my desk like I had planned. Maybe I will bring the invicible hosta on my desk and the white wing caldium to the front door. When I orderd the invicible I really didn't order it and that was the sub they gave me. I wanted a full shade hosta and it's just not growing as well as I think it should be.

Besides those two wonderful things happening I have a spectacular bloom to show. When I saw these seeds online I fell in love with Dimorphotheca aurantica 'African Moon'. It was sold as  Osteospermum but is not, it's a Dimorphotheca. It has bloomed! It is gorgeous but as I predicted the image on the site is not how the color always is. It's white with apricot outlining the inside and outer edges. The apricot is a lot brighter then I had anticipated but it's still so beautiful in my eyes. I used to be a hater of blooms that look like daisies. Now I love the daisy like blooms they are just so cheerful. I transplanted it from it's 4" container into I think an 8" maybe 6" with the Hyacinth beans and the trellis.

Lastly that I remember is probably the one I was really waiting for the most. A few of my many daylilies have scapes! I was getting discouraged because I hadn't seen any sign of scapes just a bunch of foliage still. When I purchased all the daylilies I went a bit nutty. I didn't realize how much room they take and was not prepared with enough containers. I smooshed them into a really large one, a rectangular one, and a smaller rounder pot prob 8". I had read if they are too close and compact they won't bloom. I will have to divide them later on in the year and maybe sell them or give them more space.

Oops I also forgot that my Variegated Dracaena, Dracaena marginata 'Tricolor' is alive. I was just thinking today I should yank it out of the container with the devils backbone in it. When I looked down there are two heads of dracaena on the base of the plant. So if anyone has had these do I just cut back the previous ones severely to the base of leave them and new growth will happen. I'm not sure. Anyways I'm glad it is bad because it is a nice unique plant and adds some nice height and texture to the balcony.

Dracaena marginata ‘Tricolor’