Small Space Gardening

I have lived in a few places since leaving my parents home. Luckily for me each new apartment has had a bit more room for gardening than the last.

My first apartment, however, was a small one bedroom on the first floor of a very large pre-war building. No yard or lawn to speak of, just a common courtyard all cement and very dark. Oh and did I mention, my apartment was like a cave, the surrounding buildings blocked out nearly all the light.

So your probably wondering how I could possibly have grown anything in a cave, right? With a lot of research and an alternative light source.

The first thing I did was to pick up a book from the bookstore

I also collected a bunch of seed catalogs so that I could compare the plants on the chart, with those available to order. Seed catalogs can be a great reference for any gardener, so I keep a pretty big collection to help me plan each year. Some of my favorites are:

Gurney's offers fruits, vegetable and flowers at good prices. Their catalog is full of important information, such as plant height, depth and spacing, hardiness zones and germination periods. To receive a catalog Click on Free Catalog along the top of the website in the green bar.

Michigan Bulb Company offers bulbs, fruits, perrenials trees and shrubs. Of particular interest is their Money Saving Collections (found on the left hand side 2/3 of the way down the page.) These collections are great for a new gardener, who wants to experiment with a few different plants without the worry of having to pick plants which complement each other. These plans are also great for those who want an instant garden, but are not yet confident of their garden planning abilities. Each Collection comes with a plan to fill a small space garden. To Receive a Catalog Click on "Request a FREE Copy of our Catalog" at the top of the page.


Breck's is a popular supplier of plant bulbs. They harvest and ship their bulb direct from Holland and offer very high quality bulbs. Bulbs are wonderful for growing in a small garden because they thrive well in containers. To Recieve a Catalog from Breck's select the link that says "Free Catalogue" in the top right hand side of the site, just below the search box.

Square foot gardening lets you grow tons of vegetables and armloads of flowers in the smallest of gardens space.
You can grow this much produce in one four foot square area over the span of two months:

32 carrots
12 bunches of leaf lettuce
18 bunches of spinach
16 radishes
16 scallions
16 beets
9 Japanese turnips
5 pounds of peas
1 head of cabbage
4 heads of romaine lettuce
1 head of cauliflower
1 head of broccoli

Here are some great examples of ways to make a big statement in your small space garden.

Use your Vertical Space Creatively:


French Bucket Planter White

Decorate that wonderful fence with these colorful and stylish French Bucket Planters. Fill with flowers, trailing ivy or herbs. Hand crafted of galvanized steel and hand painted for a gently distressed weathered effect. 6"W x 15" H with curving hanger. Comes in Canary Yellow, Sea Green, Light Blue, and White.

Cedar Planter And Trellis

Plant a full-blown flower or vegetable garden in this large rectangular planter. Added depth allows extra room for larger plants to grow and healthy roots to take hold. Trellis aids climbing vines such as tomatoes along. Planter and trellis are constructed of insect- and weather-resistant cedar. Trellis is optional. Partial assembly required.

Try a Nautical Theme with this adorable Yacht shaped planter:



Yacht Planter - Silver Rubrail

Ahoy Matey! The finest shore homeowners often incorporate nautical elements into their decorating schemes. The Windowbox crew was thrilled to discover this beauty: half of a model boat, molded from weatherproof fiberglass (just like a real schooner!) It measures 40 x 12 x 9 outside, 36 x 8 x 8 inside, includes a coco-fiber liner, and is pre-drilled for easy installation. You can opt for drainage holes (exterior use) or no drainage holes (interior use). Rub rail colours come in black, red, silver and white, and waterline stripe colors come in pairs of black/silver, light blue/dark blue, burgundy/red, green/saddle or aqua/turquoise.