Maximizing Space with Themed Container Gardening

After moving into a beach house with a huge patio deck, we noticed that although there was no lawn to mow, which made us happy, there was no place to plant; not even a small patch for fruits or vegetables. We took this as an opportunity to line up decorative containers around the edge of our deck, filled with edibles, in themes according to our favorite cooking recipes.

Finding the Perfect Planters

First take the time to select the ideal decorative pots to incorporate into your yard space, introducing splashes of color and design. Glazed, decorated, and painted pots will spice up any yard and can be used to separate edibles from the rest of your garden as featured in a large purple garden pot shown in Better Homes and Garden online "Tips for Designing the Perfect Garden".

The colorfully hand-painted and glazed Mexican pots can add old world charm to your fruit and vegetable planter gardens, as seen in this amazing assortment "Direct from Mexico". Natural terracotta pots can also offer rustic, yet decorative containers for dwarf fruit trees, as shown on Planet Green.com in "66 Things You Can Grow At Home: In Containers, Without a Garden".

Creating Extra Garden Space

Extra space and decorator appeal can be created by hanging your potted edibles along fences and garage walls as shown here in "Choose Fun Containers" (BHG.com). Hanging planters will take your garden up and out of the way, growing larger fruits and vegetables as gravity pulls on them.

See how these popular hanging planters from All About Planters online, "Tomato Planters" can save space. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension demonstrates "Vegetable Gardening in Containers" in printable PDF format (page 2).

Themed Edible Gardens

The most fun part about container gardening is that cooking ingredients for your favorite dishes can be planted, and harvested right from one pot. Themed containers include fresh ingredients for your favorite recipes, ready to go from garden planter straight into the cooking pan.

Try a salsa container garden, using the "Sassy Salsa" recipe from my book the "ABC's of Nutritious Cooking & Living a Healthier Lifestyle" (page 44). Plant a large pot of colorful hot or sweet peppers, cilantro, green onions, and garlic, all around a dwarf lemon tree positioned under a hanging tomato plant.

Windowsill potted herb gardens grow year around, as highlighted in the book "How to Grow an EMERGENCY Garden". Grow all the herbs your family enjoys the most. Have one for cooking, and another for medicinal purposes.

Planting berries in hand-painted flower pots are not only a fun kids craft; it will save you the trouble of having to remember where and what you planted. Paint strawberries around the pot you will plant strawberries in, while painting blueberries on the pot you intend to fill with blueberries.

Or why not plant several varieties of berries, or perhaps beans, into a larger planter for quick meal harvesting. Container planting will allow you to maximize limited gardening space, while producing more of your family's favorite mealtime ingredients.