Balcony Gardens

It's that time again - time to start planning your vegetable gardens! John and I have been brainstorming what type of plants we'd like to grow this year. After doing some research, it seems as though many vegetables grow just as well in pots as in the ground which is good news for us apartment dwellers!

Our sunny balcony

Last year we grew lots of herbs - thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary - and lettuce in pots lined up along our windows. We didn't have a balcony in our last apartment so our garden was an experimental one.  We learned that oregano and thyme grow well in a window but basil and rosemary do not. We also learned that lettuce is a very easy plant to grow in an apartment, but don't let it bake in the sun in the middle of summer.

Last year's herb garden

With our successes and learned lessons we hit up the garden shop last weekend.  We walked away with seeds to grow bell peppers, cayenne peppers, carrots, lettuce, spinach, oregano, thyme, and marigolds.

I've been perusing garden websites to get an idea of how I'd like our balcony garden to look. My number one goal (after producing edible vegetables of course) is to ensure we don't create a jungle where there is no room for us to enjoy the balcony and sit outside.

spotted at Home Grown

I want it to be welcoming with a variety of pots and containers and plenty of space for our table and chairs

spotted at Garden Tranquility

spotted at Blue Lotus

I'd love to get a couple planters to hang - it adds differing heights and frees up room.

spotted at Free Gardening Advice

I've been saving toilet paper rolls to use as seedling pots and will probably plant those in the upcoming week or so.  For now we have to work on using up the firewood that we still have....here's hoping for a few more cold nights so we can get as much use of our fireplace as possible.

Have you tried growing vegetables in pots before? What's your favorite plant to include in your summer garden? This novice gardener would appreciate any advice from wise gardeners out there.