What is Urban Gardening?

The traditional garden may not appropriately fit in an urban setting due to lack of space and presence of other factors that inhibit plant growth.

However, urban gardening is an alternative solution for green thumbs that does not have enough space to tend their own gardens in the city.

• Find out below how to have your own garden in small spaces- it may be in your basement, the rooftop or even your windowsill.

Limitations

Just like starting a regular garden, starting your urban version of it requires good climate, soil, time, budget and personal taste.

• Instead of battling over groundhogs, you may find yourself contending over traffic, not enough sunlight and other special permit requirements.
• Although urban gardening may have its limitations but it is not enough reason to stop your love for anything green that thrives!

Location Considerations

Several things to consider when choosing a site to start your own garden in the city include sun exposure, permission, access, water and privacy.

• If you have problems getting sunlight in your area, focus on tending shade tolerant flora.
• Fencing may also be a good idea if you also want some privacy.
• Since using large water pots may be too large, cumbersome and heavy for your small garden, try installing a small hose with a drip irrigation system or a rain barrel with spigot.
• Check with the local authorities as well if there is a need for you to obtain a special permit.

You might as well take traffic, radiant heat and ugly utility structures into consideration.

• It may not be a good idea to grow plants in an area near a garbage dumpster, a large air-conditioning unit or near the road where traffic is most likely to cause pollution, road salt and snow removal.
• If you decide to grow plants where pollution is inevitable, focus on tending heat-tolerant plants instead.

Design Considerations

An urban garden is almost always small.

• When you say small, it usually equates to having a limited space for your plants.
• As to how your plants will thrive usually depends on your improvisation and design plan.
• There’s a huge chance that you won’t be able to grow all your plants of choice so you have to narrow down your list.

To give your garden a sense of cohesion, color should also be limited.

• To make your garden look larger, go for plants with cooler colors.
• You can simply compensate for the limited color selection and palette by adding in a variety of textures.

Plant Considerations

In choosing plants for your own little garden, several things to consider include budget constraints, proportion, gardening preferences, maintenance requirements, quantity and garden size.

• If the garden you have in mind is too pricey for you to spend on one go, set the garden up in stages- over a series of months or years perhaps.
• When it comes to proportion, the rule of thumb is that the width of the garden borders should be not less than a third of the length.
• Grouping plants by cohesion is also recommended.
• A good example is the combination of Solomen’s Seal, ferns and pulmonaria.

Before setting an urban garden, it is best to do some research first and ask advice from people of the same interests.

Related Articles:

1. Urban Gardener Starter Guide – For beginners to gardening in an urban environment, this guide will help a lot.
2. Grow Food Anywhere with Urban Gardening – Find out how a few simple tools can make urban gardens capable of growth anywhere.
3. Container Garden Guide: Urban Agriculture - Those who haven’t had a real crash course in container gardening, this is a treat for you.
4. 12 Small Space Urban Gardening Ideas and Designs – This is the best article I have seen in a while, you are simply going to love this.
5. As the Economy Struggles, Urban Gardens Grow- By reclaiming a few vacant lots, proving cheap produce, and giving the members of the community a purpose, the city gardens reap the benefits.

Recommended Urban Gardening Books :