Balkan Balkon...Come join me on my balcony

The Balkans may be gray, cold & uninvitingly dismal in the winter, but now that it's almost summer they're transformed. First came spring and the riot of colorful blossoms and trees. Now locals have transformed their balcony's into delightful and fragrant gardens.

Pictured left are some examples of balcony gardens that have begun to spring up all over town. Then there is that cottage with the full flower garden in Bosnia. Aren't they gorgeous!?!

In some ways it's not surprising that balconies and gardens are such a cultural thing here. With the hot temperatures during the summer these places become the centers for community and relationship. People will have their meals there, coffee and juice with friends, or sit and read the local paper and enjoy the gardens and shady temps. In the heat of summer neighborhood balcony's will be centers of activity well past midnight. So why not make this busy place beautiful and enjoyable? [As you can see they're also used for drying laundry, but I'm sure they're not made pretty just for that.] ;)

This year, heading into my 6th year in the Balkans, I finally decided to get onto the bandwagon and to transform my 6x6 balcony a little. There are two fragrant petunia plants with pink and purple flowers hanging down over a foot now. Oh they smell so good! And blended with the fragrance of the rosemary and (unedible) lavender plants is amazing. There are a couple of other small evergreen type bushes as well as a couple houseplants that thrive outside in the current weather. I've completed the transformation by adding a chair and a small fold-up table with an aloe plant in the middle. It's a little crowded and not as gorgeous as the locals' but I love it. :)

So, if you want to come and visit me sometime, I'll be happy to serve you some Balkan garden hospitality, turkish-coffee or juice if you prefer on my balcony. Then we can spend time like the locals and converse for many quality hours about life and everyday things, enjoying the fragrant warm evening summer air. :)

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Now the downside... Of course (!) the local turtle-dove pigeons have decided they really like my balcony as well and have made several attempts to build a nest... leaving branches and other... uh... stuff all over. Everyday I have more mess to clean up. :( Maybe I should get a plastic snake like my friend in Paraguay used to scare off her pigeon problem? But that's another blog.