Urban Gardening – Getting Started

More of us are moving into the city and are having to make do with our space and surroundings. This can sometimes mean those thoughts of having flourishing gardens may be reserved for our vision boards of things to acquire in the more distant future. This doesn’t always have to be the case. Thanks to many improvements and innovations in various growing techniques, we have a wide variety of options to choose from when getting started with urban gardening.

In our previous article, Growing Indoors – Light Basics, we discussed the various ways we can maximize our indoor gardens using different types of light sources as well as growing mediums. Today, we seek to open up more possible avenues for all you urban gardening apprentices.

Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardening is all about being smarter about how you utilize your space. Other than maximizing your usage of space, vertical gardening also has the benefits of increasing your possible yield. By giving your plants more space to grow, they are encouraged to produce more bountiful harvests. Tending to these plants is also a lot easier as you are bending and kneeling a lot less – being able to water your plants while standing upright is one of the many hidden treasures in gardening.

Plants That Love Vertical Gardens

While any plant can technically grow for a short time in a vertical garden, the plants that can stay in a vertical garden full-time are plants with small but strong root systems and plants that climb. Vines typically do well, as do ferns and succulents. You can grow flowers such as orchids, morning glories, pansies, and verbena; vegetables like peas, tomatoes, and radishes; or focus on foliage with ferns, bromeliads, and pothos. You should consider where your garden is located when selecting your plants. Consider how much sun your garden will be getting, as well as the temperature of the area.

Rooftop Gardens

These have been around as long as there have been roofs. City dwellers have been tucking plants on roofs and fire escapes for generations. Even green roofs, roofs covered with soil and plants, have been around for years. It seems no matter how much land a gardener has, we always seem to be looking for more space, and rooftop gardens of all kinds are gaining popularity in both residential and commercial sites.

Why would you want a rooftop garden?

• They make use of unused or underused space
• A garden beautifies a space
• They can provide privacy
• They can be extremely environmentally friendly
• There is usually good sun exposure