Whether you have an apartment patio, a small yard, or you just don't want to dig a garden, you can still grow fresh fruits and veggies and flowers all season long in a container garden!
For the past few years, I've gardened on my apartment's patio using the following resources, and I've loved it! This year, we moved into our first house and I finally have a yard, but there's so many other projects to do that I won't be able to dig a garden in time for planting, so I'm sticking with my trusty container garden again this year!
Without further ado, here's some of the resources I'm checking out. Many people find container gardening more manageable and approachable, especially if you're a beginner gardener.
List updated Spring 2023.
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A fantastic resource for growing things you can eat in containers! This book covers beginner gardens, with descriptions of great container plants and what you need to do to grow them (see the section "10 best easy crops"), as well as more advanced…
I love this book because not only does it help you get plants growing, it also helps you develop the look and feel of your garden as a whole. It has tips for entertaining in your garden, for adding privacy (super helpful for balconies and small…
This book has everything you need to start growing veggies. The first half of the book provides tips and suggestions for creating and maintaining your garden, and the second half presents a guide with different plants and tips for growing them. It…
This handbook has been one of the most helpful books for me and my garden! I come back to it literally every year. It has a short introduction with tips and ideas, but the rest of the book is a handbook full of different plants that work great both…
One of the best ways to cram as much garden as possible into your small space is to grow vertically! Last year I built myself a rack to hang pots from so that I could do just this. This book focuses on squeezing in as much as you can based on your…
Grow bags are basically just fabric pots, which are lighter and easier to move, more breathable, and often cheaper than ceramic or terracotta containers. The absolute best part about grow bags is that you don't have to find space to store a bunch of…
Like many of the other books on this list, it contains ideal plants for containers, growing tips, and project ideas best suited to small spaces. Unlike the other books on this list, this book has a bunch of recipes using the plants you'll be…
This is a great book for beginners about all the different types of plants you can grow in a container, not just fruits and veggies. It presents different projects you can do with containers and plants that work well in them. This is a good…
This book teaches you all you need to know about growing different plants in containers, with a focus on flowers. It covers flowers from seeds and from bulbs. I honestly didn't know bulbs could grow well in pots, but this book shows you they can!…
This is another book that focuses on flowers and fragrant plants in containers if fruits and veggies aren't your thing. I didn't know crocuses could be grown well in a container, but they can! Each page has a photo of the plant, along with a…
Here's a book focused all on growing herbs in containers! Personally, I feel herbs are especially well-suited for containers, as long as you can remember to give them all the water they need. Last year I got to make my own pesto using basil I had…
I grew up picking strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries from my parents' garden. When I started gardening in my apartment, I was a bit sad when I thought I couldn't have the fresh, sun-warmed berries I remembered, but I was wrong! It's totally…
Gardening in a small space only works as long as your plants don't outgrow your garden! This guide identifies compact plants and dwarf varieties (and gives you tips on how to find them at a nursery!), suggests ways to design with them, and provides…
I got super lucky with my apartment patio- it had tons of space and got tons of sun. But if you don't have a space like that, you can still grow food! This book focuses on the tiniest of gardens and the tiniest plants to put in them, with the key…
What happens when you don't even have an outdoor space to garden in? This book will show you! It covers different plants that are perfectly happy just on a windowsill. This book also talks about the benefits of having plants around you (to purify…
This book is perfect for beginners or anyone who has found that anytime they try to garden, everything just dies. It takes a modern, introspective approach, inviting you to think realistically about what you're capable of doing, what you want, and…
It can be hard to make a small space garden look and feel good! This book looks at small gardens from a design perspective, helping you turn your small space into a garden that represents your style. It's full of beautiful and inspiring photographs,…
One perk of a container garden is the ability to customize the containers your plants are in! I made a couple DIY containers for my garden last year, and it definitely added some style to my patio. This book provides instructions and ideas for…
Theme gardens are something I've always wanted to try. I've always been a bit intimidated by them, but this book makes it easy. It contains different arrangements for containers, with plants that grow well together and look good too! Create a…
You don't even need a patio or balcony or other outdoor space to have a garden in your apartment! Although you might not be able to do fruits and vegetables as easily, this book will get you started with indoor plants and even herbs, and includes…
