Apartment Garden Blues (Blog): Why I Love Container Gardens
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- Published on Friday, August 23 2013 10:05
- Written by Alexandra Martin
For those of us who live in apartment gardens with balconies, we don’t have much of a choice when it comes to what types of gardens we can keep. We will have either container gardens or no gardens at all. It’s that simple! But here are 5 reasons why container gardens are better than any other garden.
5. Container gardens are easy to move. Apartment gardeners with a little plot of land off their patio can grow some plants in the ground. But what happens when you move? Container gardens allow apartment renters to move their entire gardens with them. Some plants can be dug up and put in pots, but others won’t tolerate that, or they will be too large. Plus, when you’re ready to move, you won’t want to do a ton of work in the garden to get ready for your next apartment garden. A lot of renters move often, and container gardens make moving just a little bit easier.
4. Container gardens can have interesting containers. Whether it’s a recycled container or an antique plant pot, container gardens allow small-space gardeners another way to be creative. You can make a hobby out of collecting, selling and trading interesting plant pots. You can even paint your own!
3. Container gardens can have plants that wouldn’t normally survive the winter. If you live in a cold climate, it is easier for you to bring container plants indoors to overwinter them. If you plant less hardy plants in the ground, they will die if kept outdoors during the winter. Buy a couple of grow lights and set aside a corner of your living room to grow plants during the winter. The extra greenery and light will keep you in higher spirits during the cold and dark winter months.
2. Container gardens have fewer problems. While this isn’t always true, it’s easier to keep an eye on a small container garden rather than a large garden. Deer, rabbits and other pests can eat up your plants and ruin your garden quickly. With a small garden that’s close to the house, wildlife will be less of a problem.
1. Container gardens are low-maintenance. My favorite part about container gardens is that they’re low-maintenance! Because apartment gardens are small, we are forced to keep just a few plants. While this may seem like a burden (and it often is), it really cuts down on the amount of work that must be done.
Check out next week’s blog, where I’ll talk about the downsides of maintaining container gardens in apartments.
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Alexandra is a professional writer from Southern California who grows vegetables, herbs, lots of aloe vera and one giant Boston fern in her balcony garden. She also grows dracaena, pothos and English ivy indoors. She loves traveling and birdwatching in addition to gardening.
