Ingenious Gardening Tricks and Tips for Decorating Small Spaces

Jessie Alinari
4 min readMar 24, 2015

With planting season just around the corner, now is the time to dust off the gumboots and get out in the garden. Maybe you are one of the many owners of small-sized gardens and you always use this as an excuse for not for not growing your own organic edibles.

The small size of your garden is no longer an obstacle. Luckily, there are many creative ways to build a makeshift garden in your tiny yard. Whether you want to plant vegetables, fruits, flowers or herbs, you are sure to get inspiration and find an applicable garden idea for your small space. Even the smallest patch of yard can transform into a functional, inviting area if you go vertical.

Here are some ingenious gardening tricks and tips for small urban gardens. Choose your favourite garden design or put into action all of them. Even if you have enough space, these tips can be applied everywhere and will help you optimise your garden. As a result you can gain extra gardening space and you will have the chance to grow a wider variety of plants.

Pocket Vertical Garden Planters — Versatile Aesthetic Solution

Grow Your Favourite Herbs in a Charming Pocket Garden

Pocket vertical gardens are a good way to to brighten up and decorate outdoor walls and fences with flowers, herbs or vegetables. You can use them to create amazing living walls covered in lush vegetation. Hanging wall planter have another great advantage — they keep curious pets and unwanted critters at bay. Fill each pocket with potting soil and add the desired plants. Grow inside your hanging planters everything that comes into your mind! They are particularly suitable for growing various vegetables — peppers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, beetroot, garlic and many others. Hang your pocket garden on a well-lighted place that is protected form heavy rains and strong winds.

Hanging Grow Bags — Garden Anywhere you Desire

Perhaps at first glance they look ridiculous, resembling a punching bag, but grow bags are an essential part of exploiting every available garden space. They are extremely easy to fill, water and plant up. This simple and effective solution can be applied anywhere you can hang a nail or a hook. Hanging grow bags are a nice trick to hide unsightly areas in your garden. Hang one or multiple bags, and grow petunias, begonias, verbena, impatiens, succulents; tomatoes, strawberries or your favourite herbs. These plastic sack are reusable, portable, weed free and their height is adjustable. Only add soil, tear holes and plant seedlings gently inside each opening. Water lavishly and very soon you will enjoy a rich harvest.

Gutter Planters — Low Maintenance, Budget-Friendly and Easy Do-It-Yourself Idea

An Ideal Solution for Shallow-Rooted Plants

This is another simple, yet effective ‘climbing the wall’ garden. People usually are preoccupied with gutter cleaning, in this case they should be preoccupied with how to bring some dirt inside. Position them on a sunny wall or fence, fill up with potting mix and plant herbs and flowers. Gutter gardens can be arranged in different styles — you can hang them from a wall or fence with rope; attach them with nails or screws. Diagonal gutter planters run back and forth thus providing easy watering of each gutter planter. If you choose to attach several rows of gutters, leave at least 8 inches between each row. They can be transformed into a natural fence that protects privacy while bringing beauty to your landscape. Gutters don’t provide lots of space, so it’s better to grow shallow-container plants like violet, oxalis, geranium, begonia, phlox etc. They are also suitable for growing herbs — thyme, sage, tarragon, chives, oregano, basil, stevia etc., and even strawberries and lettuce. Gutter gardens are easy to create, no matter how skilful you are. There are various inexpensive, easy-to-use alternatives, such as utilizing old guttering or PVC gutters. Create mood by painting them with bright colours.

Metal Cans — Vertical Eco Garden Made from Recycled Tin Cans

Recycled tin cans are another variety of atypical plant containers. Hanging them is a great idea to use space a lot more efficiently than just arranging them on the ground or on a windowsill. Attach them to the wall in tiers, one above the other or in long vertical lines. You can use then to create hanging garden by stringing cord through each can and tie it off. Leave each piece of cord should a little longer than the one before in order to create a tiered effect. Tie all of the lengths together and hang the loop anywhere you please. Drill holes for drainage in the bottom of each tin. Optionally, you can paint, brush or spray them. Fill with soil, plant everything that comes into your mind and enjoy your cheerful flower artwork.

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