A small garden is yet one of the most significant design characteristics of your home, and that’s why you want to make it beautiful for the new season. On the porch, on the terrace, a small urban garden on the roof, or a modular garden on the wall – there are plenty of options to enjoy reliable gardening in small dimensions. When it comes to the choice of what to grow, however, it is always a challenging choice.
The edibles are, without a doubt, some of the easiest and fastest-growing plants that one can sow even in a couple of pots at home, of course, only if you pick up the right species. Check out a couple of factors to consider when making this choice.
The Color
It is a factor when it comes to a small on-the-porch garden because the color of the flowers or the edibles will play a significant role in the nights and the days that you spend on the porch. There are plenty of appealing combinations, for example – grow only plants with green colors. Most of the herbs and some of the most famous veggies – the cucumbers and the cabbages, are green. Or else, go on the complete opposite side by combining plants with a completely different and contrasting color like green cucumbers and red beans or tomatoes. Not to mention the endless combinations of edibles and flowers, which can make a single basket or a pot look like a whole miniature garden hanging from the wall.
The Rate Of Growth
This factor is especially essential if you want to get more or fewer benefits from your reliable gardening. If you plant fast-growing edibles like carrots, onions, radishes, and lettuce – you can even get the advantage of a double-harvest season. Other low-growing plants like Brussel sprouts, beans, leek, and tomatoes provide a single harvest in a season, but they are definitely worth the growing too.
The Ease Of Garden Maintenance
A small garden on the porch is always much easier for maintenance compared to a huge outdoor patio. However, it is something that you want to keep in mind because it can determine whether you will grow plants in a modular structure, in numerous small or a couple of gigantic pots, along the warmer south wall of the porch or somewhere away from the walls for better sunlight exposure, etc. If you plant numerous plants in a smaller space, you have to consider the leaf collection frequency, the ensuring of a proper leaf clearance, trimming and hedging, and all other common maintenance exercises.
The Options For Combinations
There are several groups of edibles and veggies, which combine several common advantages, specs, and requirements for their proper maturing. For instance, the most typical edible for a small garden – the potatoes, can match perfectly with lettuce and bean. When planting onions – combine with carrots, dill, and cabbages. Yet these are just a couple of excellent examples. Ask the gardening experts in your region to recommend other great combinations according to the characteristics of your garden.
Once you select the plants for the small garden or at least the essential plants – consider buying only good-quality seeds. They provide a greater harvest and are more vulnerable to outdoor conditions. Decide the arrangement of the plants, which will become a part of the entire layout and design of the porch. Another great tip is to decide which seeds you will grow as starting plants at home and which ones to plant directly outdoors.
