How to Garden in Your Apartment

Just because you live in a city doesn’t mean you can’t have green spaces. Apartment gardening, while trickier, is something you can totally do.

With apartment gardening, you can actually grow almost everything a suburbanite can: from fruits and veggies, to flowers, trees and shrubs. All you need is determination and plenty of flower pots.

Think Vertically

Urban spaces tend to have lots of one thing: walls. Use walls to your advantage by creating a vertical garden. Find a wall that has enough space around it so plants can sit comfortably and you can still walk by. This is where you get creative. A ton of everyday items can be used to create a vertical garden. Hang shelves to put pots on or a shoe caddy to plant in. You can re-purpose drawers for planting, hang recycled soda bottles (horizontally), use a step ladder for pots, or even re-purpose rain gutters. Take your pick.

Balcony or Rooftop Access

If you have a balcony or access to the roof, you’ve struck gold. Use the sunlight and space to your advantage by hanging basket boxes over the railing of your balcony. If you have a roof, then treat the space like your own garden of eden. Put a seating area somewhere in the center and begin to fill the space around it with whatever and however many plants you like. Remember, it’s your space.

Dwarf Citrus Trees

Dwarf citrus trees grow great in containers. They are small enough to sit in a corner of the room (with sunlight) and will give you some fresh tasting fruit. You can get lime trees, lemons, or oranges.

Succulents, Succulents, and More Succulents

Cacti and succulents are great because they don’t require much care. You can find tiny succulents at many stores like Home Depot that can sit on a shelf or windowsill, or if you prefer to go big, tall and skinny cacti look good in any corner of the room. For a garden effect, get a bunch of little succulents and group them together in a tray.

A Single Flower

Take one flower, one that is striking on its own, and plant it in a pretty, painted, DIY pot. The painting is what really brings this piece together, but the flower should still draw attention. Use something like a mini sunflower or rose. This will brighten up any cramped bedroom.

Group Plants Together

A good way to simulate a “real” garden is to take individual plants that are in pots and group them together. This way you are saving space and creating that garden-like feel.

Get Climbers

This is another good option if you’ve got a balcony or bare wall outside. These plants will adhere to a structure, like a trellis, saving you space and looking great. They just need a pot for drainage, along with water and sunlight.

 Mobilize Your Garden

With some DIY craftiness, attaching wheels to the base of your planters allows you to move them around for convenience. For example, if the only spot of sun is in a place where plants would block an entry way, you could roll the plants to that spot when you leave for work and move them when you come home.

Mason Jar Garden

It’s no secret that mason jars are definitely having a thing right now. People love ’em. One way to use them is to fill them with dirt and plant cilantro, oregano, rosemary, or any number of herbs you desire. You can fasten the jars to your wall for an artsy look or just keep them lined up on a windowsill.

Terrariums

Terrariums are gorge. The best part is they can fit right on your desk, coffee table, or literally any other place in your apartment.

Shady Plants

If you’ve got a balcony or a terrace but it lacks sunlight, opt for a shrub that thrives in the shade. Hydrangeas are great in the shade and change color to your will depending on how acidic you make the soil.

Winter Plants

The fun doesn’t have to stop when winter arrives. You can opt for annual bloomers like pansies, primrose, or ornamental kale and cabbage. No need to bring these folks inside.