Gardening And Landscape Solutions For Apartment-Dwellers

Posted on: 17 March 2015

You don't have to sacrifice your love of fruitful gardens and lush landscaping just because you live in an apartment or a town-home. There are many clever ideas that can fulfill this love of nurturing plants to fruition, while enjoying the fruits of your labor with fresh flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Consider some unconventional approaches to gardening when you live in homes that lack green-space and room for the plants you love.

Some alternatives to typical gardens include:

Container gardens

Container gardens can be planted in just about any type of pot or vessel, as long as you allow for proper drainage either with holes in the bottom or with an inch or two of aggregate. Herb container gardens are a great option because they can be displayed in the kitchen window for easy access to fresh herbs when cooking. Create a clever container "salad garden" in a large, deep pot adding these components in the same pot, any time of the year:

  • Chives

  • Parsley

  • Bibb lettuce

  • Oregano

  • Marigolds

Hanging baskets

Hanging baskets are a popular and convenient way to grow the plants you love in limited space. These easily hang off of the eaves, a window, or exterior wall of your apartment building to hold everything from flowers and foliage to herbs and veggies. The important thing to remember about hanging baskets is that they require adequate drainage for your plants, and will need a sturdy hanger to support the weight of soil, water, and seedlings.

Window boxes

Window boxes are the perfect solution for apartment dwellers as they can be secured outside any window with brackets or hangers, and the window makes them accessible and easy to care for. Sunny windows are the best home for flowering plants and fruits, while there are some other types of gardens that do fine in the shade, such as ferns, herbs, and colorful viola.

"Dig-less" gardens

If you live somewhere that has some green-space, but that for some reason doesn't permit you to dig into the earth to garden, due to the terrain, soil quality, or other restrictions, consider creating a dig-less garden. Some great options for these spots include marigolds, sweet peas, parsley, oregano, lettuce, tomato, and zucchini. Use these tips to establish your own dig-less garden plot:

  • Use stones or rocks to create the borders of your garden plot. Cover the ground within the border with layers of newspaper.

  • Add a layer of compost or fertilizer over the newspaper.

  • Put a layer of straw over the compost layer.

  • Position your plants and seedlings, and fill in with soil.

There are many inventive ways to create potted gardens and plant in containers when you live in an apartment, a high-rise, or a town home. If you are fortunate enough to have a balcony, the options become even more diverse, including dig-less strategies that will yield the fruits and vegetables that you love.  

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