compact gardening

Compact gardening ,could be the answer to your big dreams of a garden but a very small space in which to plant it? Maybe just a sunny balcony on the fourth floor in the middle of a big, concrete-filled city?

Don’t abandon those dreams just yet. While you are dreaming of acreage in the peaceful countryside, why not explore compact techniques?

This rapidly growing trend is filling small spaces everywhere with lush greenery, colorful flowers, and fruits and vegetables galore. And you don’t have to be a city dweller to take advantage of this action-packed method of gardening , either. Gardeners with more than enough elbow room for planting are finding the joys of compact gardening to be more rewarding than a sprawling spread.

The key to successful compact gardening is utilizing every inch of space to its very best advantage. And this space covers more than just the ground. One way to reap the most rewards is to consider the air space, too.

If your “farm land” is an urban balcony or rooftop, consider hanging baskets to take advantage of as much growing space as possible. Plant trailing vines and hanging flowers for beautiful effect.

Nasturtiums do triple duty here – attractive leaves, lovely flowers, and they’re edible. Some indeterminate-type tomatoes, especially the smaller ones, make great vining plants for hanging baskets, too.

Many garden favorites grow well in pots, as long as the pot is big enough to allow a strong root system to develop and there are holes in the bottom of the pot for adequate draining.

Another way to take advantage of your compact garden’s air space is by trailing plants up stakes, trellises, or even the banister of your balcony. Indeterminate tomatoes will enjoy this environment but so will other vegetables such as peas and beans, cucumbers, and squash.

Roses can be a lovely and fragrant addition to your compact gardening area, too. Potted as a specimen plant in a spot that commands attention, your rose bush can grow free and tall with little pruning required or can be meticulously trimmed and maintained as an attention-getting topiary.

Trailing roses can be trained to grow up a trellis near a wall, spilling over the balcony, or intertwined with other vining flowers. Try pairing climbing roses with clematis, hyacinth beans, or moonflowers.

Utilize your limited garden space to the very best of its abilities by planting with seasonal growth in mind.

Many plants will go dormant during the cooler months but they’ll need to stay potted and in place nevertheless. The cooler months are a great time to sprinkle seeds for salad greens such as spinach, radicchio, and arugula. Harvest when the new leaves are just a few inches tall and your salad garden will not interfere with the growth cycle of the sleeping perennial it shares a pot with.

Plant some pots with a seasonal succession of showy bulbs, too, for year-round color and interest. Fill a pot with bulbs that bloom spring, summer, and fall and delight in the profusion of flowers you get with very little attention required.

Love to cook? Turn your space into a culinary delight abundant with your favorite foods. Try tomatoes, peppers, peas, and cucumbers. Or aromatic and flavorful herbs that will keep your cooking zesty and your compact garden lively and vibrant.

It never hurts to dream of having a garden so big it stretches from horizon to horizon but that takes an awful lot of work to tend. Many happy gardening enthusiasts are finding there’s a whole lot of gardening satisfaction to be found in small spaces.

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