Get Started with Container Gardening
Sometimes, the urge to garden might be extinguished by your circumstances, such as living arrangements or space constrictions. If you live in an apartment, you can’t really operate a full garden because you don’t really have a yard! The best solution for this problem is to grow plants in pots. You can hang them, or just arrange them on your patio, window sill, or balcony. Just a few baskets or pots, and your whole living area will look much classier and nicer.
A benefit of growing plants in pots or planters is that you can move them around to suit your needs. If you rearrange your furniture and you think that one or two pieces would look nicer in the other area, it’s no trouble at all to scoot them around. As long as the lighting remains about the same, your plant shouldn’t mind the transition at all. Another benefit of this way of planting is that you can simulate almost any environment depending on the type of soil you use and where you position things.
If you are trying to make an aesthetically pleasing arrangement of pots and plants, you can arrange the pots at different heights by hanging them from the ceiling or placing them on supports. Hanging them will allow you to make the most of the space you have. This is called “vertical gardening”, and if you pull it off right, you can make a very pleasing arrangement of plants while conserving valuable space. That’s probably important to you if you live in an apartment. Another way to go vertical is to use a wooden step ladder. Paint it with colors that complement your decor and arrange your plants on it in a beautiful cascade of color.
The maintenance of container plants takes slightly more time, since you have to water each of them and do so more frequently. However, contained plants require less square footage than those in an actual garden. Be careful though, because it is really easy to over-water your plants. Doing so can be as damaging as under-watering them.
When choosing containers for your plants, buy a couple more than you need. Then you’ll have extras if you break one or you want to add more plants later. You don’t need to buy the same shape and size, but you might want to stick the same style so they complement each other. Plastic ones are the best and require the least amount of watering. If you want to stick with clay or earthen pots, remember that they absorb water. Line the inside of them with plastic to help them retain water. Remember, pots can be disguised with baskets and wrappings. Buy them for the plants that they will contain.
Remember also that the size of your containers will ultimately constrict the size of the plants. Choose them based on what you plan to grow in each one. If you buy a plant on the internet, search for specifications about the volume of root space it requires. Use this little tidbit of information to your advantage if you want to try a plant that can grow very large. Planting it in a pot that will constrict its growth may allow you to enjoy that plant in a smaller size.
If the benefits of container gardening are appealing to you, let me encourage you to start planning out your container garden today. Write a list of all the plants you’d love to have. Do some research to discover what you can about the shape and size of the containers you should buy or make. Buy your plants and pot them up! Then it’s just a matter of arranging them in ways that enhances your home.
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Hello and welcome! Hi there! My name is Jerry Nielsen. I've been a gardener and gardening teacher for many years, and I have successfully grown container gardens the Northeast and Southwest. Please share your comments, and take a moment to sign up for my RSS feed.