As usual I was the first one in the house to wake up. Even the dog prefers to continue being in the dreamland than keep me company so early in the morning :)
The birds though are up even earlier and their singing fills the air while the first rays of the morning sun, are falling on the summer vegetables.
No, I am not in a homestead nor in a farm house. I am in an urban flat, a temporary place that is hosting us for the last four months. We have no land here, not even a small garden but there were a couple of planters with soil in the balcony when we came and 
The first picking was a pepper. Excited as I was to taste the first fruit of our tiny garden I took a big bite...
...and I entered the gates of hell!
What we thought that was a sweet pepper from a local variety, turned out to be the most spicy one that I have ever tasted, almost lethal :)
But we shouldn't let a small setback discourage us!
The cherry tomatoes are progressing beautifully and they are not spicy at all :)
The morning sun was also brilliant and I got a bit carried away taking dozen of pictures! The ripe tomatoes, the green ones, the blooming, even the leaves themself looked wonderful and worth photographed!
The only alarming sign is that dark dot (picture below) that appeared in some of the new tomatoes.
Does anyone know, what it might be?
The basil was planted as a companion plant for the tomatoes but I am sure that we are going to have some pesto before the end of the season, too!
While the pursley (Portulaca oleracea) grew on its own and I am very glad that it did. It is one of my favourite ingredients for a summer salad!
In the picture below it is a small pot with Cretan dittany, one of the very few plants that travelled with us from the island, to the mainland. The chances are that even if it grows well here, its properties will be different, as it often happens when we move herbs from their native place. But the climate is similar and I wanted to give it a try.
And then there are the succulents!
The first one was already here when we came. A hard fellow that grows with the slightest moisture and it multiplies like a weed, thanks to the myriads of seeds that it produces on the edge of its leaves. There were a lot of new plants around it and a neighbour advised us to uproot it but we are very reluctant at killing plants even if we regret it in the future. For now it grows next to the other plants that
The second one was a gift from that same neighbour, a very soft and tender succulent that is blooming magnificently. Of course this one is still too young to bloom but the mother plant on the next balcony leaves no doubts about its beauty!
And of course an aloe vera because every house should have one and the last one that we picked up from Athens on our way here.
The "Mother-in-law's tongue" apart from its funny name, is quite vulnerable to harsh sunlight. Its last residence was a very sunny balcony and its leaves were half-burned.
I probably wouldn't plant marigold, especially having so little growing space but
After all it is nice to end a post with #alwaysaflower :)
This is my contribution to the Garden Journal - JULY CHALLENGE of the C/HiveGarden community. There is plenty of time to show us your garden or whatever garden related you want to share with us.
HAPPY NEW MONTH!
All the pictures and the words are mine.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
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