Container Gardening at Home

Container Gardening at (our) Home

This page is dedicated to the container ideas I've tried while living in a 3 story townhouse. We have 2 decks, one on the ground floor covered by the upper deck on the 2nd floor. They face west and the lower deck gets mostly shade while the upper deck gets mostly sun. 

The upper deck only a cat could love

The biggest factor is leaving enough space  to move. These decks are long and narrow. The lower deck houses the AC unit and serves as access to the very small yard. Too many containers take up floor space and make it difficult to move. For the last 2 years I have been trying to get everything up - hanging baskets, railing planters, etc.

Getting the umbrella and it's stand off the deck gave us a lot more room to move. It also allowed us to move the table and chairs to accomodate 2 people or 4 when we had guests. Pvc pipe to the rescue.

I've had some success in the spring mixing lettuce and spinach in with flowers in the upper railing planters. These planters hook over the railing and I replace the coconut husk liners every other year.

Last year I tried hanging baskets with lettuce and strawberries on the lower deck in the spring. By summer I replaced the lettuce with annuals and set the strawberries aside for the next year.

Eventually, I asked Chris to build a container and screen for each end of the upper deck. This spot gets the best sunlight and serves as a raised bed. I've planted peas, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce all mixed with perennials and annuals.

The screen gives us some privacy from neighbors, while the trellis can support climbing plants. He attached the screen to the 1/2 wall and our deck with brackets. This spot gets mostly shade and we use this area for the table and chairs.

This year I got these railing planters for Easter. I set them up with lettuce, chard, radishes from seed and a couple of nasturtiums also from seed. I really like these up high, easy to pick and water.

So what about the lower deck?

Not a lot to show you. I just sold my adirondak chairs because they didn't fit and we didn't use them. The heat pump is there and is just too loud when it's hot out. Recently, I decided to replace the hose after coming up with a couple scenarios for it. It took up all the walking space and is now at the community garden. I replaced it with a coiling hose, like the one upstairs. Guess I had to find a use for the old one before doing that.

Because it's covered it makes a great spot for starting seeds or over wintering plants. Chris has covered most of the "ceiling" (underside of the upper deck) to create a dry space when it rains. We just haven't found a better way to use the space - yet.