Specifically, we recommend you start the season early with container gardening. Starting small — with window boxes, urns or pots and hanging baskets — not only gives you the opportunity to get growing right now, it gives your plants a chance to establish themselves inside before you move them outdoors.
Pot of herbs
Filling a window box with various herbs for the kitchen is one option. However, if you want to try something a bit more advanced, consider using herbs to create your own topiary. Rosemary (a fragrant, woody herb that blooms with tiny violet flowers) can be trained and trimmed to the shape of a small tree. Shop for a rosemary plant with a thick, woody stem. Plant this in a 30-centimetre terra cotta pot, and use a bamboo cane for support (loosely tie the plant to the cane with plastic garbage ties). Next, remove the shoots from the bottom half of the plant with pruning shears. In time and with trimming, the top shoots will grow into a thick ball of greenery. At this point, however, it may seem a little naked. To compensate, surround the stem of the rosemary plant with purple pansies.
Basket of tomatoes
You don't need acres of land to grow your own food. Try growing tomatoes in a hanging basket. Cherry tomatoes are one possibility, or you could look for a "Tumbler" tomato plant, a species developed specifically for hanging baskets. Surround your tomato plant with petunias and, within months, you'll have a basket overflowing with fruit and flowers. (Just remember to hang it in a sunny spot when you take it outside.)
Fresh fruit
Cultivate your own orchard. Many types of fruit trees are now available in dwarf varieties, making them perfect for container gardening. Pick your favourite fruit tree (lemon, orange, lime, plum or apple) and plant it in a terra cotta pot. When the weather is warm enough — when daytime temperatures reach an average of 20 degrees — it can be moved outdoors, preferably to a south-facing corner, where it will be sheltered. When the weather turns cool in the fall, it can be returned indoors as a decorative accessory.
Welcoming fragrance
When it comes to curb appeal, most of us think of urns, window boxes or hanging baskets filled with flowers. However, if you fill your planter with herbs, your home will not only appear inviting, it will smell that way, too. Fragrant herbs include thyme, lemon thyme, marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage and basil. Mix them with delicate flowers, such as nasturtiums or sweet violets, and add trailing ivy and you're guaranteed to make a grand entrance.
