If you are not one of the lucky people that own a good sized garden or indeed a garden at all, or if the patch that you do have is overrun by children and/or pets, what can you do to still allow you to exercise your green-fingered urges?!
There are quite a few alternative 'gardens' that you could think about. An allotment is one option as is window box gardening. Roof terraces can be absolutely stunning outdoor spaces and most of them are also perfect for gardening whilst good old indoor plants could be the last resort. Whatever your situation, don't give up just because you don't have a 'real' garden - here are a few suggestions and ideas for you.
Allotments
Allotments are a great and relatively inexpensive hobby that offer a wonderful way to keep fit as well as to grow healthy organic vegetables and flowers. Normally, an allotment is a piece of land (typically around 30ft x 20ft) which is made available for rent (on an annual basis) by councils, local authorities, parish councils, and sometimes private land owners. From £5 to £50+ per year you can rent a piece of land, plant beautiful flowers and grow your own fruit and vegetables.
An allotment is fantastic value for money; especially since pensioners, unemployed people or students can even get discounts on the rental price and obviously those growing fruit and veg benefit from being able to use this rather than having to buy them at the supermarket - particularly good these days given the rocketing prices we're all experiencing!
Most towns and cities have allotments available for rent, although be warned that their popularity is increasing and spaces are limited so you could be in for a bit of a wait until one becomes available. In general, they are a little bit hidden or out of the way, but, in most cases, there will allotments closer to your home than you might think.
Check out www.allotment.org.uk for more details.
\n\nRoof terraces
Roof terraces have become more and more common as urban dwellers have to resort to all measures to make the most of any available outside space. London’s typical urban neighbourhoods such as Georgian and Victorian streets have the potential for roof terraces and modern apartment blocks can compensate for the lack of private gardens by having a roof terrace.
Tips for a roof terrace:
*You should consider how large a terrace you want and what size of a terrace you can accommodate
*You will have to check with your local council whether the roof terrace you’ve got in mind would require planning permission
*It’s a good idea to hire a builder and an architect to design, build as well as accessorize
your terrace
*Weight can be minimised by using plastic pots, and plant material such as perlite or hydrolica mixed with compost
Check out www.mylandscapes.co.uk/ for more information. \n\nWindow boxes
Window boxes are another alternative to having a garden or allotment. Even as a flat owner with limited outdoor space, with window boxes you can still enjoy a bit of gardening. They provide useful additional planting space and they create a display which can be observed closely and tended to whenever you’ve got a spare minute.
Window boxes can transform the look of your house or flat, whether it’s a window sill or a small balcony, pots of flowering plants provide great decorative appeal and also add much to the outside view of your house. You may want to consider this if you are trying to sell your place! For a cheat's way out, try littlegreenspace.com who are a London-based company offering delivery of gorgeous, ready-planted window boxes!
You can have your own kitchen garden by planting up herbs in small containers. Even vegetables and fruit (potatoes, strawberries and tomatoes for example) can be grown in smaller containers such as window boxes; they just need to be given the correct soil and watering conditions.
Get your window boxes ready:
A large variety of ready-made window boxes are available, from simple plastic trays to ornate wood. Lightweight materials for window ledges are the well-known plastic and attractive wicker boxes, or heavier stone and terracotta for patios.
Before buying, you should consider how the box will be fixed and whether your sill will be wide and strong enough. If it isn’t, it will need fitting. Although window boxes can be fitted on walls facing any direction, you should keep in mind that south and west-facing boxes will require more watering while north-facing boxes will need shade tolerant plants. If you’d like to place your box in a place where it might get quite hot, simply insert polystyrene tiles along the front, that will keep the inside cool.
Generally, for the best results in a window box garden, your box should be at least three to four feet long but not more than six feet. If your box was larger, it might be too heavy to suspend and secure properly, and it could become difficult to lift it.
Once you’ve got the box, get some clean crocks for the base, some multi-purpose compost (slightly moist) as well as the plants of your choice. Remember to choose a container with good drainage holes. You then cover the holes at the base with a layer of crocks. Once you’ve done that, fill your pot up to three quarters full with compost. Position the plants in the box before you plant them; this way, you can see how they will look best. Plant them at around 2cm below the rim. Position the pots in a shaded or semi-shaded place. Water to keep them just moist.
Other points of note
Only if you should intend to be self-sufficient regarding fruit and vegetables will you need a vegetable plot of a certain size; but that also means you will have to have the spare time to care for it.
Generally, when it comes to gardening, you will need around 5 minutes of spare time per week per square metre for weeding, general tidying and so on.
Therefore it is often best to reduce the size of your proposed plot so that you have the time to give your fruit and vegetables your full attention. Set your plot size accordingly to the hours you can dedicate per week.
Vegetables need a lot of sun, and water must be readily available, too. Well drained fertile soil is essential for a vegetable garden, whether it’s an allotment you have or a window box.
If you’d like to have flowers instead of vegetables/ fruit, the following plants are ideal plants for a window box display: begonias, busy lizzies, geraniums, pansies, fuchsias, hostas, ferns and many others. All of these enjoy shade or semi-shade, but most plants like either sun or half-sun.
Check out www.mywindowbox.com for more information.
