BECAUSE IT JUST would not stop raining this weekend, it was the right time to garden. Spring is in the air, and even getting my house hit by lightning wasn't going to slow me down from getting seedlings in dirt (it filled the bedroom with red light and fried the toaster- the lightning strike, that is, not the dirt).

Key to the planting extravaganza was the purchase of three windowboxes and one hanging planter, with more to follow next weekend. I invariably go for the moss windowboxes. These are living boxes made entirely out of moss and evergreen branches wound around a wire frame (not inserts like the ubiquitous brown coconut mats, which are themselves not bad but unlovely). They retain water very nicely, particularly if you keep the plastic shipping liner that comes with them and just poke drainage holes all through it. You can't see the plastic once it's all filled with dirt and drying out becomes much less severe. MiracleGro- not known for its planet-friendliness- now makes a decent organic potting compound at Home Depot, and as Home Depot resides in my backyard, I went with that instead of a make-your-own peat/sphagnum/blood-and-bone-meal blend. Normally I mix my own with those ingredients, but as that's a very messy proposition and the balcony is quite small I resisted. The moss boxes have an excellent color of soft green and pale brown which does much to recommend it to high-visibility locations. My hanging baskets are of the simple black frame and coconut insert variety, but at $4 a pop they have the inestimable bonus of being really, really cheap while looking quite charming.

My holy trinity of herbs was first to be planted: sage, basil, and thyme. A few lavender plants for the smell, and then a tentative foray into vegetables. Heirloom Kentucky Runner climbing beans went in with one zucchini, and one squash. All three are very prolific, budding and fruiting continually throughout the year, and all are climbers, which I thought would look nice as they start to spill over the balcony railing. With such limited space, high productivity with any veg is a must. Two or three small harvests a year is all I think they'll manage, but it's better than none.

Still to come are four more hanging baskets (one of strawberries, one of oregano, and two of part-shade rotating flowers), and two more windowboxes (one of herbs that can stand part shade- chives, parsley, and dill- and another of creepers or flowering vines). I'm deeply tempted to plant blackberries in the final windowbox on the short end of the balcony. These start out as pathetic, dry little bundles of sticks but shoot skyward with gratifying speed in April, fanning out to cover any trellised area. A string trellis on the short side of the balcony, facing the neighbors, would quickly become an excellent screen during the spring/summer/fall months if blackberries were planted beneath. Either way, there needs to be a climbing plant there to either frame or screen the opposing balcony entirely.

As you contemplate your own gardens, I can only caution you not to be deterred by the torrential spring rains. Getting wet isn't the least a problem, and if you fail to get your shoots in the ground this weekend or next, you will be, as the Brits say, for it.