We are thrilled to have Tanya Blake writing for Harmony Village once again. Tanya shares the many different things in life that inspire her, including food, design, fashion and being outdoors. Make sure you check out her blog, Bonjour Cherie and read below her tips on how to garden in small spaces. Perfect for future Harmony Village residents, Tanya reinforces the idea that just because you’re downsizing, it doesn’t mean that you have to downgrade on the things you love.
By: Tanya Blake, Bonjour Cherie
This year marks my second spring in my small urban home and, though I have both a front and back yard, the green space itself is actually tiny. Luckily, container gardening doesn’t scare me – I lived in a south facing condo for years before moving, and I learned that with proper planning and the right plants you can make any outdoor space feel like your own personal oasis. If you follow these three rules!
ONE // KNOW THY PLANTS, KNOW THY SELF
The first question you should ask yourself is, how much plant maintenance am I comfortable with? It may sound simple but you’d be surprised how many times I’ve seen perfectly responsible friends kill plants over and over again, myself included. The weather in Southern Ontario can be tricky, with summers hot and humid, which means you might not want to include high maintenance plants if you know you’ll hardly be around to care for them. Next, decide what kind of garden you’d like – whether it’s a vegetable garden, flower garden or a mix of both.
If you love eating the fruits of your labour…
Vegetable gardens are incredibly rewarding. Start with a few easy-to-grow salad greens, such as lettuce, spinach or arugula, planted side by side in one long container. These greens won’t take up prime sun real estate either; they only need 4-6 hours of sun each day. Next, add tomatoes into the mix. You’ll want to encourage your tomatoes to grow vertically by staking them as the season progresses, but they’re surprisingly easy to grow as long as you have ample sunlight every day. Personally, I love growing herbs, they’re easy for beginners and you can eat them all season long. I grow the four herbs I use most in my kitchen: basil, flat leaf parsley, mint, and cilantro. Herbs tend to need a lot of sun, so be sure to place them somewhere that gets at least 6 hours of sun each day, like your kitchen windowsill!
If you love the smell of flowers…
Annual flowers are great to add pops of colour in your garden, and you can find them in any nursery for cheap. Try cosmos to attract bees and butterflies or sunflowers to brighten up your garden. If you’re a fan of peonies, you’ll be happy to learn the single-flowered varieties don’t need staking, which means they’re easy to care for. A beautiful yet hardy plant for your garden is the Heuchera, a perennial that comes in a variety of leafy-colours from deep purple to orange. It prefers a part-shade environment, which is perfect for those corners with less access to sunlight.
TWO // MAXIMIZE SPACE
Now that you’ve determined what kind of gardener you’ll be, it’s time to take a hard look at your space. Determine what areas get the most sunlight each day and which areas would suit part-shade plants better. And then go vertical! The best way to maximize your outdoor space is to build up, not across. Living walls are perfect to grow all your herbs and salad greens. Elevated gardens beds will work wonders for tomatoes, and any other vegetable. You can hang bright annuals in baskets, or place them in stacking planters for maximum exposure. Look for planters with proper drainage holes and ensure the size will accommodate the plant’s growing root system.
THREE // PREP FIRST, PLANT SECOND
Save yourself some garden woes and do a little planning. Take out all your planters and flowers and decide which ones will go where before you plant them. Group plants with similar sunlight needs and soil type, and be sure to use a premium quality potting soil to ensure your plants have the correct nutrients. In the summer, I always layer mulch on top of the soil to prevent water from evaporating.
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