Container gardening has become an American hobby, for some a passion. Even if you have room for full-size landscaping, containers can be used in multiple spaces to add color, control weeds, and can reduce the amount of time needed to maintain a larger garden.
You may want to start with something simple and useful. An herb garden is ideal. Sometimes called ‘kitchen gardens’, a good explanation of them is that they are things you bring into the kitchen: herbs, vegetables, fruits and berries, and even cut flowers for your table.
Start with herbs like basil, chives, cilantro, dill, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme. You can often find these plants in the produce section of your local health food store. They are usually ready to harvest when you buy them. Put them back in containers, cut the leaves as you need them, but never cut more than a third of the foliage at any one time. Many herbs are perennial and can be overwintered by moving the container to your kitchen, garage, or basement.
For a salad, choose arugula, escarole, lettuce and mustard. How nice it is to be able to go outside or on your terrace or balcony and have your vegetable salad for your dinner. Fresh and fragrant.
Plant a tomato, a cucumber, and some parsley or chives in a large container (24-30″). They grow well together and have the same sun and water requirements. You’ll harvest them well into the fall.
Flowering plants that grow well in containers include petunias, geraniums, and impatiens. Pansies make great spring container gardening projects. Combine colors from opposite ends of the color wheel spectrum for maximum impact:
For fresh fruit, try strawberries. They are easily grown in containers. Plant them in barrels, tubs, hanging baskets, or strawberry jars. Plant in early spring and place them where they will receive at least 6 hours of sun a day. When the season is over, don’t throw them away. They can be overwintered by covering them with straw or moving the container to your garage or basement. The following year’s plants will be bigger and better.