There are many people who would just love a summer garden but they feel like actually doing it is outside the realm of the possible. There’s good news! In the modern world in which we live it is definitely possible. The only thing you may have to do is rearrange in your mind exactly what a summer garden is and what a summer garden is not. You will still be able to have the beauty of flowers and fresh picked vegetables in almost any situation if you are ready to take the extra steps that are required to do so.
People who live in high rise buildings often feel like they have no options other that a window sill for their garden. This isn’t necessarily the case. You can talk with the landlord about establishing raised gardens on the top of the building. These have become more and more popular and some buildings also have space for a possible greenhouse. The usage of this kind of space to satisfy tenants who have green thumbs is perfectly reasonable. Raised gardens are a great thing for tenants and building owners as long as they are maintained at the expense of the tenant. There are buildings that offer gardening co-ops for those who live within the building. There can be a system created for a way of distributing and sharing in the fruits of labor of those who have contributed to these gardens. It’s great planting vegetables, plants, fruits, and flowers, and also it’s a great way to meet neighbors that share in the love of gardening.
If you happen to live in a smaller sized apartment that doesn’t have much lawn space, you still have some options. Many of these types of apartments come with balconies or patio space. This means you can use plants like ferns or flowers to add a bit of nature. These could be hanging along the patio or balcony. One gardening thing that is growing in popularity for small spaces is hanging vegetables. Tomatoes are very popular. Although not very traditional it gives people the opportunity to have fresh tomatoes even though they are very limited in gardening space. Peppers can also do well growing upside down if they are small, but it doesn’t work with the bigger peppers because they are too heavy for the vines. Having your garden suspended frees up valuable space on the ground for your plants that you just must have. These can be planted in raised gardens and can me made quite small to accommodate any of your specific needs.
Another option is a vertical garden. This requires some of your handyman skills or maybe knowing someone that has these kind of skills to design and build a platform for your gardening that allows you to grow the flowers and vegetables that you want without taking up much ground space. It is also a convenient way of gardening for those who are in wheelchairs and aren’t able to get up and down for regular gardening tasks as easily. A vertical garden can be planted using very little ground space, like what you would have at your disposal on a patio or a balcony, and allows for many more plants that you may expect with such a small space for growing. Add this to your hanging plants and you could just find that you have quite an impressive little summer garden growing!
Don’t let limited real estate stand in your way of summer garden needs. A great way to overcome this is to think vertical! Thinking vertically rather than horizontally will help you discover that you have a whole lot more room to work with than you ever realized. One important thing to remember is that your summer garden doesn’t have to conform to anyone’s idea of what a summer garden should look like. Make it your very own and have fun!