Dreaming of Spring Gardens?

Container Gardens: Have a Garden Anywhere - iVillage

I am. It's just the pick-me-up in January.

When I lived in the Chicago area I was quite young and owned a big, Midwest-style yard. I grew everything. Had a compost pile out back, too.

In Chicago dreaming and planning over my Wayside Gardens, Burpee, and other garden catalogs was just the cure for the dismal depths of a Chicago winter.

Now I'm in Southern California - a very different kind of January! Just the same, I've a cold, and having a lie-down with a few garden books to plan my new balcony garden is just the ticket.

Balcony gardening = container gardening. Therefore, that link above. Maybe you'd like to do some container gardening as well? Have a patio? A porch? A teeny-tiny door yard?

I've had good luck with rose bushes - never planted, kept in the container they came in. Might have a little container tree (might try to grow a little avocado tree from my over-ripe avocadoes). Always vines - especiallly morning glory. New hanging plants? I have parsley that refuses to die - annual in the Midwest, perennial here in SoCal. Parsley is always handy (and healthy) - looks good, too. I've grown container cherry tomatoes successfully - just keep 'em in the pot they come in instead of planting them in the ground just like the roses.

My balcony is brutal with its southern and western exposure with no shade and no protection from the wind. And the sun is indeed more intense in Southern California. I have to plan accordingly. All container gardening requires more frequent watering (or rain), anyway. Note that I plan to buy a good shade umbrella this year for the balcony. Also there's that mention of vines and container trees I made above.

It's fun to dream of gardens in January. : )