Monday, January 30, 2012

Gardening In Small Spaces

 Happy Green Monday :)

Today I want to share some ideas about sustainable living, well mostly growing your own food, and doing so in limited space. Growing your own food is something that we all should be aware of and be able to to do, because not only it good for the environment {pesticide free}, but you never know when you made need to to get out there and do it ~ plus, fresh, live foods like fruits and veggies are necessary staples of sustainable living.


First and foremost, let me just say that 
I LOOOOOOOVE fresh fruits & veggies!!!!
I've noticed the difference in my body when I go on vacation
and don't get enough of them in my diet.
My body craves them & I could eat them all day long!!

YUUUUMMMMMM


I have also found a new love for gardening. Its also something that I always wanted to do, but I was very unsuccessful when it came to keeping plants alive. So this article is written for me & those of you like me!

My mother in law, on the other hand has a very green thumb & I have been taking notes! She always has beautiful flowers surrounding her house & this past year she planted several veggies and some strawberries with my oldest daughter. She mentioned a few times that she wished she had more space in her back yard to plant more things. This is a feeling that I've shared over the years since I have mostly lived in apartments {I also wanted to keep the plants alive, but she already has that part down}.



Since I know we are not the only people who wish for more garden space, I searched & gathered some great ideas for small space gardening.



Here are some of my favorite ideas for small backyards and apartments:


G Living has a really cool video showing you how to fill & hang a wall garden. The video show regular plants, but you can probably use some veggies that have small roots.




 Low Impact Living had this really cool picture. I have scoured the internet looking for a tutorial on how to make this wall garden, but I have been unsuccessful. I found that it was made my Jill Bert, but bot instructions. Super cute though!




Tournesol Siteworks sells vertical garden kits so you can install your own at home.  




 I found this little beauty while playing around on Pinterest. You can buy plans for your own roof garden from Living Roofs Inc. For some reason, it makes me think of Snow White. 






Don't have a wall to garden on? No problem-o!! 
Here are some cool ideas for apartment gardens:


Life On The Balcony has a great tutorial for how to make a pallet garden.


I found this picture on Apartment Therapy, but there is no tutorial. The picture originally came from Mat The W on flicker. It seems pretty easy to do, just cut the tops off plastic bottles & hang. The picture shows them hanging on a chain link fence {BRILLIANT!}; however, you could find any number of things to hang them from if you don't have a fence. You could pick up some wooden lattice at a home improvement store & set this up on your apartment balcony!





Gutter gardens are becoming my new favorite idea! 
Check out these links below for some inspiration:


The Green UpGrader has an article about this cute little gutter garden.




I found this really cool gutter garden on Flicker. I wish that Flicker pictures came with instructions because this is something I really want to make! It looks pretty easy, but its always easier when some one else gives you the directions ~ sorry guys, its to great not to share!





The Highland Peoples Food Seed Bank has an awesome tutorial for
creating your own gutter garden.




I found this awesome gutter garden on Tumbler. Again, sorry there is no tutorial for it, but it looks simple enough ~ angle your gutters to the water travels from the top down. Attach them to a wall or lattice & put in the sun.







Another cool idea I found in space-saving-gardening
is to use hanging shoe organizers.


I found this cool picture on Greening Austin Daily


And they shared this link to Instructables where the tutorial is posted.




I found this really cool webiste called Plants On Walls where they sell these FloraFelt hangers. These things are amazing! Go check out the website and read all about them!!






Now that you've seen some great ideas, 
get out there and nurture your green thumb!

If you have any ideas for small space gardening, or want to share your pictures,
I'd love to hear and see them!








GO GREEN ♥ GIVE CHARITY

3 comments:

  1. I wanted to tell you first, love the post. Also I awarded you the Versitile Blogger Award!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! That sounds fun :) Also I'm glad you like the post!! :)

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  3. Thanks for posting! I'm getting some inspiration from all these ideas!

    ReplyDelete