Gardening is one of the most rewarding and relaxing hobbies you can start. Nothing beats the thrill and pride of witnessing how your planting efforts turn into something fruitful and beautiful.
Whether you’re planning to start a vegetable garden or a floral landscape, there are notable benefits to getting your hands dirty. It’s a great way to add healthy and organic ingredients to your daily dishes. Likewise, surrounding your house with fragrant and fresh florals is a surefire way to beat stress and feel at peace.
Container Gardening 101
However, if you’re new to this activity, it can be challenging to know where to begin, especially if you don’t have a yard or a big space for a traditional garden. Nonetheless, gardening doesn’t have to be a complicated venture. There are several creative ways to pursue your gardening dreams.
To show you, here are some strategies you can use to start gardening if you don’t have a yard:
1. Identify The Size Of Your Potential Garden Space
Before you start buying your favorite plants, it’s important to initially examine the actual size of your space. Whether you’re living in an apartment or a tiny house, there’ll always be nooks that can potentially fit your container garden. This can be in your balcony, terrace, window sill, open shelves, or any space that’s exposed to direct sunlight.
If you realize that you don’t have enough space to spare, this is the perfect reason to start decluttering your house. Perhaps there are items and appliances you can store elsewhere or relocate to create an area for your container garden.
After this, start measuring the size of the space you’ll use in order to decide your gardening style, which kinds of plants will thrive in the area, weather conditions, and the like. This can help you set realistic expectations for your mini garden, helping you narrow down your plant options, pot sizes, and garden arrangement, among others.
2. Think Vertically
You don’t need to follow traditional garden arrangements and potting schemes. If you have a small space, go for plants that grow upward and go for vertical wall gardens. Vertical options such as hanging pots, wall-mounted gardens, and a repurposed ladder can help you save floor space and are great do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, especially for new gardeners.
The flexibility of arrangement in this garden style will allow you to save money from sprucing up your interiors. It’s also perfect for small potted plants, herbs, and greeneries.
However, if you already own a few potted florals and plants, look into temporary space options while you’re still selecting a garden arrangement that would be best for them. For example, if you just moved into a new apartment or townhouse, you can initially place your sun-loving plants, herbs, and blooms in window boxes.
3. Maximize Big Spaces
Depending on your available space and intentions, there’s an array of containers and gardening styles you can tap into. For instance, if you have big, empty walls, you can opt for plants that tend to spread out to occupy those open areas.
For edible plants, you can choose from strawberries, beans, and cucumbers. For flowers and greeneries, climbing vines, Japanese anemones, dahlias, and daylilies will surely set your garden apart from the traditional landscaping styles.
Moreover, if you were able to clear out unnecessary household items and now have a spacious patio, you can proceed with an outdoor container garden. With this garden style, you can accommodate bigger pots for different herbs, flowers, and vegetables.
For example, large and tall plants such as melons, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and squash will thrive abundantly in spacious corners. These can also be a wonderful decorative addition to your outdoor living space, especially if you spend a lot of time on your patio or balcony. They can increase your curb appeal as well if you’re planning to sell the house soon.
4. Look For Low-Maintenance Indoor Plants
If you don’t have available space for your plants to receive plenty of sunlight, opt for house plants that need less of it. Research shows that indoor plants can enhance your mood, help you sleep better, and boost your productivity, especially if you’re working from home.
Typically, most beginner plant collectors and gardeners would opt for succulents. Aside from the fact that they’re pretty, these desert blooms can thrive in hot climates and require less water than other plants. Because they need little attention and are slow-growing, they make for ideal gifts for busy loved ones who want to start and grow their indoor garden.
If you have an open shelf in your kitchen, bedroom, or even your bathroom, you can stack a few moisture-thriving plants there. Apart from succulents, you can opt for snake plants, Chinese evergreen, bromeliads, heartleaf philodendron, and other low-maintenance plants. To add visual appeal, choose various sizes of cans, pots, pallets, and other mini containers to fill this area.
To finalize your list, look into online flower recommendations, check plant tags, and ask the shop’s representative at your local garden unit to help you decide which plants will thrive and survive in your space. Be realistic, maximize your available space, and look for plants that fit your specific circumstances.
Things To Keep In Mind
While you might get excited about your gardening venture, think about whether you want to purchase seeds or young plants. Either way, there are plants that can grow quickly in the right soil and if appropriate gardening techniques are used. You can even gather the kids and involve them in the planting process to develop their interest in gardening.
Moreover, make sure to pot your plants in an area accessible to water. If you need to carry a big watering can back and forth your patio, it would be more convenient to install a faucet and connect a hose near it. You wouldn’t want this hobby to become like a tiresome chore in the long haul.
If there are water shortage problems because of drought, see to it that there are other water sources available. Additionally, check if there’s adequate drainage in your pots and containers. You can purchase ones that already have small holes at the bottom. Alternatively, you can drill drain holes into them before you start piling up the soil.
Final Thoughts
If you’re new to gardening, it can be quite tricky to identify where to set up your plants, especially if you don’t have a yard. However, by breaking this project into mini-plans and strategies, you can incorporate these natural beauties into your home. Follow the tips and suggestions above, and you’ll soon have the garden you’ve always wanted. You can check out Allgreen local nursery & Garden for different plant products.
