https://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/urban-garden-jpeg-750x500.jpeg Urban Garden Small Plants in Soil

Gardening provides a sense of tranquillity and rewarding hard work. Making use of your green fingers can be great for those who have access to great wide open spaces, or even for those who have an average-sized garden, flower patch, or front patio hedging. However, the joys of gardening can be lost on those who live in built-up town or city areas. With the lack of greenery available in the ever increasing populated areas, the need for urban gardening also grows. If you’re an avid experienced horticulturist or just an enthusiastic budding grower, here’s how to bring a bit of green to your neck of the woods.

Window gardens

When living in the city, the most popular type of accommodation is a flat or apartment. Of course, with having a smaller building it also means that your space is limited. This means that you need to look into all types of opportunities to bring that bit of greenery that you’re after.

Windowsill boxes are good for growing shallow-rooted plants. When considering a windowsill plant box, determine whether or not you have enough sunlight reaching your window. If you don’t have a reliable amount of sunlight from all of the windows in your building, it is worth thinking about plant lighting options. Windowsill boxes are ideal for both brightening up your home and adding greenery to the city outside your window.

Another great way to enjoy your own urban garden is to have a vertical garden. For those who don’t have lots of space, attaching plant pots to your wall is a great way to grow some plants, bring some greenery to your home and even upcycle. Instead of buying new plant pots and fixing them to your walls, find ways to upcycle – such as cutting 2-litre plastic bottles in half and using them as plant pots. You can even use old shoe hangers to hold up the variety of plant pots you have, without damaging your walls. The key thing to remember is that plants need light to grow successfully.

Choosing the right plants

Some ideal plants to grow in both your windowsill plant box and vertical garden are herbs, fruits and vegetables; particularly ones that don’t grow too tall or wide such as basil, lavender, parsley, rosemary, thyme, strawberries, tomatoes and mushrooms. These plants require well-drained soil, so it is worth having containers that have drainage holes – but make sure you have something to catch the excess water.

There are plenty of ways to bring your garden to life even if you don’t have a lot of space, or even if you’re just starting with your new green fingers. Not only do urban gardens provide a sense of achievement and handiwork, they also produce plenty of edible plants that you can use. Explore your gardening side, and start an urban garden!

About the Author

Morris Hankinson is the founder and MD of Hopes Grove Nurseries, the largest grower-retailer of hedging plants in the country. He started the business in July 1992, the day after completing his last exam of a BSc. Horticulture course at Writtle College in Essex. Morris has had a fascination and love of growing things since childhood when he was a keen exhibitor at his local Horticultural Society. Over the years the nursery has developed from a one person operation to an employer of 25 staff and so his interest is put to very good use, keeping an experienced eye on all operations across the 125 acres of nursery production.

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