If you don't have much room for gardening but love to grow your own flowers or vegetables, try a container garden. You can enjoy growing everything from veggies to trees on a porch, patio or balcony. A wide variety of flowers, vegetables and other plants do very well in containers with a little loving care. And there's nothing like a container garden to enhance the look of your outdoor spaces.

Besides being able to fit into a small space, a container garden has several other benefits. Your plants can be moved around to hit optimal sunlight spots or avoid frost damage. Container plants can be brought indoors easily for any reason. Also, some people have room for a garden but soil that's not good for growing, poor drainage, and other problems. A container garden means plants are in different pots, so you can give each plant the optimal soil condition without affect any other plants. Containers rein in some plants that tend to grow wild and take over large spaces. And pest control is easier when you can do one plant at a time instead of having to treat a large garden plot.

When choosing containers for your container garden, you'll want to choose containers that appeal to you aesthetically, of course. They'll show and become part of the décor, so you choose containers you enjoy looking at. But you also must make sure that the each container is right for its plant. Some will need a much bigger container. And some flowers and vines will completely obscure the pot once they begin to grow, so you can opt for a plain container in those cases.

Inexpensive terra cotta pots look nice and uniform, but dry out the soil. Large pots are also very heavy. Stone pots for your container garden are a gorgeous touch, if one that's easy to break. You'll want to only use stone for plants you don't intend to move, because of their weight.

Wooden planters are beautiful containers, but make sure that they're sealed so that they can't rot or leach stain into the soil. Wood's an excellent insulator for any plants that will stay outdoors over the winter. Probably the least expensive option for your container garden is plastic. Plastic pots are light and easy to move, don't dry out the soil and come in every shape, size and color you can imagine. Because they're non-porous, they'll hold moisture in so you must avoid overwatering.

Almost any type of foliage or flower will do well in a container garden. Some can even be mixed in a pot to give the look of a beautiful bouquet. Check each flower to be sure it can grow well with another, or check with your local nursery.

Many vegetables can also be grown successfully in a container. Squash, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant are just some vegetables you can grow. Some trees like orange, lemon or banana, depending on your local climate, can also be grown in a small space container garden.

Photo Credits: magnio

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Aesthetics, Garden, Handy Man, Yard

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balcony, container garden, container plants, containers, frost damage, garden plot, heavy stone, insulator, leach, loving care, outdoor spaces, Pest Control, pla, poor drainage, Porch, soil condition, terra cotta pots, veggies, vines, wooden planters