I LOVE to garden, even though I’m not very good at it. I love to dig in the dirt, watch seeds sprout, pull weeds, and water my little babies. It’s one of the best forms of stress relief in my life. However, growing plants, flowers, fruits, or vegetables is often nearly impossible when you live in an apartment due to a lack of space and sometimes a lack of sunlight. I have scoured the web looking for ways to grow a garden with the conditions in which we live.
Herbs are awesome! Last year I grew basil, rosemary, chives, and sage. They all thrived on my shady balcony, and all but the basil survived the winter and are doing well. This year I’m working on more basil (I saved last year’s seeds), thyme, cilantro, parsley, and dill.
Leafy greens are also supposed to do well with minimal sunlight. You could grow turnip greens, arugula, spinach or collard and mustard greens.
Root vegetables are also good for us. You could try garlic, beets, radishes, carrots, or small potatoes.
In regards to flowers, Impatiens love the shade…so much so that they took over my garden last year. You could also use Geranium, Columbine, Hosta, Begonia, Crocas, or Violas.
This is not exactly a cheap way to relieve your stress and add color to your balcony. Pots, dirt, seeds, plants, and food can all cost you a pretty hefty chunk and anyone can tell you that I am WAY to cheap for all that.
1. Look around the apartment for unique items that could be used as planters. An empty coffee can or vegetable cans, chipped mugs, or old bowls are great for planting, and unique.
2. Find Containers at thrift stores and on sale racks. You might find an old basket or a tin pail at a thrift store to be used. Or wait until after a holiday and grab all the clearance décor like small trash cans and coffee cups…just paint over the Christmas tree, pumpkin, or turkey.
3. Choose Perennials that will come back each year.
4. This is my favorite tip…collect free seeds! If you see a spent impatiens at a friend’s house, ask if you can pluck the seeds for yourself. I’ve got seeds that I’ve collected and reused for YEARS and YEARS! It’s much fun to collect and label these, and to give them away!
Good luck gardening! But be sure to keep up with our Facebook page for more tips, and maybe even some free plants!
