As the sun set on the first day of summer, I reflected on the state of my balcony garden — which, sad to say, is still in its infancy.

The crush of months of unrelenting work, plus a stubborn bug that zapped any remaining energy I had at the end of the day, has resulted in a slow start. I’m still adding plants as the days progress, and I have to admit that for once I didn’t go into the season with a well-crafted plan.

I had the usual abundance of seed packets, and even picked up a few more that displayed photos which struck my fancy… But, the visions of color

schemes, placement and balance that I’ve let be my guide in previous seasons weren’t dancing in my head.

So, I decided to make having no plan my plan. I thought I’d just put my faith in the garden and hope that it would sort of create its own order — with a little massaging from me, of course. Let’s just say it was my “moment of Zen.”

Following that path, I observed as some things returned on their own (and in the case of my chives — with a vengeance) and pulled some things that appeared invasive and looked as though they drifted in on a breeze.

Early sprouting leaves that were identifiable were spared so as to tuck in alongside the new additions. And, with the newbies I didn’t even resist the allure of pink (a color I love as a rule, but that typically gets edited out because I don’t think it works as well in extending the palette from my interior space).

Some of the things in my balcony container garden this summer are impatiens, lisianthus, violas, petunias, begonias, a geranium, lettuce and the aforementioned chives. I’ll share more photos and musings regularly from here on. I promise…

Because in another moment of Zen, I was reminded that the garden is the perfect prescription to give back that energy that life’s stresses take away.

[Photos: Lettuce and flowering chives.]