Enlightened Platypus: Happy Terrace Garden Time

In looking back on my last two posts, they're a bit preachy and serious; time for something lighter. This year's garden. Last year was our first attempt at a garden on our terrace. This year we had learned our lessons on what plants can take our windy environment and how to best care for the plants we have. I won't blather on- have I mentioned that when I write an instant messaging widget I'm going to call it Blather? The pictures are more interesting but a quick overview of our crops-

We upscaled last years upside-down tomatoes in a coconut fiber basket to a bigger basket (16"), and eventually a coconut fiber cover that helps keep the moisture from being blown away. The roots from the tomatoes grow up into the fiber, it's interesting to peak under.
The garlic chives from last year (in the smaller basket where the tomatoes used to be) survived inside for the winter and share the basket with chocolate peppermint, which can be a nice touch in my coffee some mornings.
There's a golden raspberry bush, which I had never heard of before, but they grow stouter than their red raspberry cousins from my childhood that would be a bit of a monster on our terrace full grown.
I bought a kumquat tree last fall and we had it inside for the winter. It had kumquats when I purchased it, which we consumed over the winter, so this is the first time I get to see them growing from flowers.
Carnival blend carrots, which will grow as purple, red, white, yellow and orange.
Hot cherry peppers, which have turned out to be very tolerant to the wind.
Strawberries in an upside-down commercial bag, hung inside of a reclaimed old-school metal aquarium platform.
In the earlier pictures is a venus flytrap, which provided garden justice to a couple of plant-eating pests, but sadly now needs to be replaced.

Late May, the Early Days

Overview of almost everything

You can see one kumquat here, it held on since last fall when I bought the tree

Top-down view into the raspberry water bottle / greenhouse. Wasn't it cute?

Mid-June, the flowering begins (as do excited visits from bees)

And if you look just above the basket in the center, the Empire State Building. Much better in person

Once the raspberry outgrew it, the hot cherry pepper plant spent some time in the greenhouse

The first of the tomato flowers

Rokku enjoys the garden as well

Over time, we gave all of the plants watering spikes with their own supply of water, it got them through the hot, windy days of July while still yielding us plenty of fruits and veggies to eat.