by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: February 06, 2009   Last Updated: September 01, 2010

For apartment, condo, town home and many city dwellers who like to be able to plant flowers, plants and vegetables, limited space presents considerable problems. Figuring out how to use what little space there is can be very challenging. In many cases, the only way to be able to create any semblance of a garden is by planting things in containers. Container gardening has become very popular and there are many new and improved versions of old favorites that have been hybridized or modified so that they will adapt to growing in containers.

Here are some ideas as to ways you can use containers when you have very little or limited space.

*Use hanging pots and planters -

One way to free up space on the ground is by using containers and hanging pots. If you live in an apartment and have a balcony, you may be able to insert heavy duty hooks that will allow you to hang various plants. Strawberries are wonderful for growing in hanging planters.

Flowering and green vines can also be grown easily in hanging planters. You can even mix greenery and flowers together within one hanging planter to create the look and feel of a container garden.

*Using window boxes -

If you want to grow certain types of vegetables, mainly those that you'd grow in rows, window boxes are the perfect solution for that. You can purchase inexpensive plastic window boxes, some of which even come with a self contained reservoir that will supply some additional water for the growing plants. They come in different lengths, depths and colors. They are ideal for growing things like lettuce, spinach and mixed gourmet lettuce blends.

*Earth Boxes -

Earth boxes are wonderful for growing larger vegetables, and you can even buy a trellis system or cage like support for tomato plants. The advantage of earth boxes is that they also have a reservoir, but you can put a fabric mulch over the top of the planters, and this will help keep weeds at bay or eliminate them altogether.

*Creating container gardens -

You can create the feeling of an actual garden space by mixing plants within a single container. Shallower containers are ideally suited to growing succulents and cacti. You can mix several different plants of varying height, leaf size and textures to create a really interesting and unique self contained garden.

Barrels can be used to hold other types of plants. You might even want to have cascading plants growing over the side, while taller plants grace the middle of the planter. As an alternative, you could even use fancy ornamental grasses to create more interest.

When it comes to using containers, the sky is really the limit. By  choosing the right containers, you can turn a small space into what looks like a huge and lavish garden. Your friends may be really astounded to see how much you were able to pack into a seemingly tiny space, and you will have the satisfaction of being able to grow pretty much anything you want, even though you may have thought that having a garden in such a small place wasn't possible.

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