Urban gardening, without a house, greenhouse, sunporch - or a garden!

If you’re a typical apartment dweller, chances are that you have some kind of a garden happening on the premises. Urbanites are known for their insistence on bringing Mother Nature with them into their cement and concrete abodes—and making things grow! Whether it’s pansies in a pot, palms in a planter or forget-me-nots in a windowsill box—the urban gardening experience is only as limiting as ones imagination.

Of course, successful gardening, like most other things in life, only happens with well thought out plans-- like a workable garden design. Sure, your space is limited. And your available light you can hardly read by. And your cat even turns its nose up at what they call your safe water supply. That doesn’t mean you still can’t have a flourishing and productive garden. Even if you’re nothing more than a weekend gardener.

Don’t treat plants the way you hang pictures

Just think of your garden as a 10-acre farm and you’ll get the picture. So, you’re not going to plow the land. Or till the soil. Or sow the seed. Or irrigate. Or fertilize with cow manure, fortunately. Actually, you are going to do all the above— just on a smaller scale. So, instead of a 10-acre farm, you have 10 square feet of garden. You’re still going to aerate the soil—maybe with a fork, and water with a watering can, and for fertilizer? Oh well, you’ll think of something.

Designing a garden, urban-style, is pretty much a matter of what goes where. Unfortunately, too many urbanite gardeners treat plants the way they hang pictures. They’re concerned with where it “looks” best-- with little regard for the lighting, air temperature and humidity that make plants flourish. The best rule of green thumb for urbanite gardeners is-- do unto plants as you would have them do unto you.

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