When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of living in a house with a balcony -- I don't really know why. I think I thought if I had a balcony, boys were sure to serenade me on warm summer nights, like how having a swimming pool leads to popularity and pool parties. Well, I have a balcony now, a tiny one, but instead of dreaming about stepping outside to find a crooning boy on the sidewalk below, I dream about tomatoes.

That's how I found myself at Tomatomania at the LA Arboretum a couple weekends ago with my friend Jenn and her husband Mike, my head stuffed with visions of vines and puckered heirloom fruit. Tomatomania turned out to be part of the LA Garden Show, so there was a lot more to look at besides tomatoes, but we made a beeline for the seedlings anyway. Reading all the yummy descriptions, I wished for a real garden, or at least a bigger balcony, but I eventually settled on a cherry tomato called Sunsugar and a black variety called Black Krim.

Because my balcony is so very small, I decided to pot them upside down in baskets hanging from the awning, a method which also improves air circulation and keeps pests away. There are lots of online tutorials for this, but I followed these instructions, mainly because it didn't require a drill. On top I planted marigolds, since tomatoes and marigolds are companion plants. The balcony looks so much more welcoming now and with luck my dreams of sweet summer Sunsugar serenades will come true very soon.

I'm very much a novice tomato grower, so I welcome any tips in the comments!