by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: April 10, 2010   Last Updated: April 13, 2010

For people who live in lofts or apartments, the thought of not being able to have any type of garden might be disheartening. In urban areas, sometimes it isn't possible to have the kind of space that one would like to have for gardening. With a little bit of creative know-how, anyone can bring the outdoor atmosphere of a garden into their apartment or loft and create the feeling of a real garden with whatever space is available.

Here are some ideas that can make it possible to create that garden feeling right in an urban apartment or loft.

*Hanging plants -

For small places that lack floor space, hanging plants are an excellent space saving option for bringing green into the apartment or loft. Pothos and Philodendron are ideal for limited light and there are many options for bright places. Strawberries can also be grown in hanging baskets, as can some types of cherry tomatoes. For an exotic or tropical look, consider different varieties of hoya plants.

*Large containers -

Large containers or pots can be turned into lush container gardens by mixing different plants. Choose plants of different heights, colors and textures for the greatest impact. Consider the available light before choosing the plants for the container. If there isn't much available light, plants like coleus or impatiens are perfect. If there is a lot of available light, New Guinea impatiens would work, as would sweet potato vine or even Moonbeam Coreopsis.

*Create a pseudo indoor greenhouse -

It isn't all that difficult to create a pseudo indoor greenhouse by using metal utility shelving and suspending shop lights of the appropriate length from the bottom of the upper shelves. Combine one cool and one warm shop light to create a full spectrum light. On a shelving unit like this, depending on how tall the shelving unit is and how much space there is between the shelves, it might be possible to grow exotic tropical flowers or to grow lettuce in window boxes. There are many different varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers that have been hybridized to grow in containers.

*Windowsill gardens  -

A sunny windowsill can be the perfect place to put an herb garden or any other type of mixed container garden. Herbs can be used in cooking, dried, or enjoyed just for their fragrance. Windowsills are the perfect place to put a window box, and lettuce, mesclun mix, arugula or spinach can all be grown quite easily that way.

*A balcony or terrace -

A balcony can be the perfect place to grow tomatoes or other vegetables in containers. Earth Boxes are inexpensive self contained units that can make it possible to grow things that would ordinarily need to be supported, and  they can be used indoors or outdoors. The supports are provided with the kits. In early spring, green beans, snow or sugar snap peas, lettuce, spinach or even radishes would be easy to grow in these Earth boxes.

An apartment should never stand in the way of anyone who wishes to have the semblance of a garden indoors. As long as there is sufficient light, anyone can grow just about anything indoors, making it possible to have the lush and exotic feeling of a tropical paradise or an organic vegetable garden right in the comfort of an urban apartment. An urban apartment or loft garden can be a wonderful way to bring the wonders of outdoor gardening into an apartment  high above the street level and it can even be a suitable place to grow organic vegetables and herbs all year around.

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