Maximizing Small Garden Spaces
Maximizing townhouse garden space;firstconcern year-round interest and second isspring
Annual bloom through summer and fall before dying in freezing temperatures.
- Annuals - complete their life cycle in 1 year, as in petunia
- Biennials -have a 2 year life cycle, as in pansy
- Perennials - over a 2 year cycle, often much longer, as in peony
Driveway hell strip - perennial herbs and sun lovers like the heat
No flower beds but lots of sun? Herbs and many annuals do very well in containers
Fall planning and planting new color scheme for next season
Fall vegetables too
Harmonize beds and pots
Intension for your space – do you want to cook out, eat out, relax, or grow plants…?
Use pot saucers (empty often), dollies and trivets so deck stays dry
View from inside house, so don’t forget seasonal decorating
Indoor plants canoften go outside to a shady spot for the summer
Some vegetables and herbs grow well in partial shade
Back yard underdeck planted with dwarf CitylineHydrangea ‘Vienna’
Shady back yard next to creek, so Hosta must be sprayed to repel deer
Entrance alcoves with containers and accessories
Clematis vines for softening fence, trellis gives vertical interest
Espalier and wrought iron wall art work solutions for tight spaces
Principle of proportion: Using the right scaleto improve courtyard view
Balconies: Evergreen shrubs thrived in full sun
Maximizing Small Garden Spaces
Part Two
Types of Containers; or think “out of the box”
Movable feast: containers can give you interest wherever you need it
Watering and drainage: drill 1-3 holes in pots, cover with newspaper, no stones for drainage, saucers if balcony (empty excess water), trivets if wooden deck, wheeled trolleys very heavy pots, 3’ watering wand with hose breaker, don’t wet foliage, rain doesn’t count
Maryland Recycle Center composts debris and sell as Leafgro. New planting, amend soil with 2 inch layer; top dressshrub with ½ inch second season. Beds can be mulched instead.
Soilless mixture with moisture control and timed release fertilizer for containers. Do not reuse same mixfor vegetables or seasonal pots next season.
Fertilizers are critical for container plants. The timed release in the soilless mix lasts up to 6 months. If shrub, for example, is going to be used a second season, top dress with ½” of compost; or applyfoliar feed according to directions.
Read the plant labels, so you know how the plant performs and its requirements
Examine the roots before you buy. Removecircling roots and fluff, plant at same level as pot
Element of change – deadhead all faded flowers, examine, remove diseased growth, thin or cut back if necessary.
Adding flowers and complexity to a garden will draw the beneficial insects naturally
Beneficials are the pollinators, predators, and parasites. By the time you see the ‘bad’ bugs so have the beneficials so don’t spray with toxic chemicals.
Feeding birds and providing nesting sites, hummingbirds/wrenseat insects;Hayrack becomes a nest(also hanging baskets)
Grow It Eat It – in your back yard you can grow whatever you please
Plant supports – staking, caging, growing inside obelisk
Grow sweet potatoes in containers, no digging, 5 gallon pot with 1 slip yielded 5 pounds
Blueberries and thornless blackberries - doing double duty – fruit and beautiful fall color
“Container vegetable gardening” info:go to
2015 Spring Conference * Photos and presentation by Susan Bell