If you’ve been following my posts, you’ve read about how work on the exterior of my building has been interfering with my balcony garden. I had to move all the plants — herbs, flowers, heirloom tomatoes — inside for nearly two weeks! And once they were back outside there was still the issue of mortar dust blowing about.

Well, the dust has finally settled, but instead of being able to kick back and relax in the garden I had to move the plants inside — all over again! This time it was because our association mandated painting of the balcony railings and washing and sealing of the wooden deck flooring.

So, I was up at 7 on Tuesday morning hauling three 36-inch boxes of flowering and trailing plants, two 36-inch boxes of herbs and edibles, four 12-inch clay pots of hooped tomatoes, and too many other pots to name into my living room.

In addition to the plants, this time I also had to take down all of the net lights that were attached to the railing and the length of screening that was woven tautly through the bars to make things kitty safe.

Not that I’m complaining (OK, maybe I am a little, but about the lifting, not the end results)… After all that migrating dust, the balcony was due for a  good scrubbing. And the company did a bang up job — the wood was restored to a much more pristine condition, and the railings are now glossy and rust free.

But then of course, I had to put everything back… The screening was a lot stiffer and more difficult to maneuver than it was when I put it up several years back. And the net lights got tangled during the take down and took a lot of time to re-hang.

Long after the sun went down, I got all the plants back in place and was able to finally move the small pots of morning glory up against the railings and net lights to climb to their heart’s content.

And after that, I had to water everything — which took approximately 10 trips to the faucet to accomplish.

Today I vacuumed my outdoor mat to remove any remaining dust and put my blue adirondack chairs back in their usual spots. Now I can finally sit in repose in my private urban green space.

Isn’t gardening fun?