As we often say here on Apartment Therapy, the secret to maximizing a small space is to look up. Vertical spaces often go unused — especially when it comes to gardening. And right now I'm loving simple, hanging gardens using new and vintage vessels.
Though we've covered a lot of 'vertical gardens', I'm getting super into the trend of hanging planters — both modern and vintage (the macrame planter in the first picture is my own). You can fill them with a mixture of plants, play with scale and stagger the height of a cluster of them to fill up an otherwise unused space. I particularly love a cluster right by the kitchen window. It just feels like home.
• 1. Roost Macrame Hanging Candle Holder that I repurposed to plant a donkey tail in — now hanging by my kitchen window.
• 2. Jeana Sohn's Restful Corner complete with a hanging string of hearts.
• 3. Reapproproated Vintage Containers house succulents and are hung in a cluster.
• 4. Go Mod with the circle pot from
• 5. Go Big with a hard to kill houseplant cascading in front of a window (from Alex and Cory's Small Cool Entry back in '09)
• 6. Upside down Airplants from Michael McDowell - modern and hard to kill.
• 7. Hanging Poppies spotted over on Design Sponge are dramatic and won't be as long lived as succulents or traditional houseplants, but man are those beautiful. And a nice alternative to having cut flowers.
• 8. Mix and Matched Vintage containers in front of a window from a favorite southern california blog, No Accounting For Taste
• 9. Hanging Herb Garden made possible by planters from boskke makes way more space in the kitchen for an herb garden.
• 10. Hanging Geo Planter from Kelly Lamb is modern and simple for a single succulent or pack it with dozens. Love the sculptural shape.
Images: Laure Joliet, Jeana Sohn, Beth Ziegler, Laure Joliet, Alex and Cory, Mudpuppy Ceramics, Design Sponge, No Accounting For Taste, Boskke, Reform School











Sheex Bedding
I could just hug you guys! Thanks - we have very limted space and this is the perfect solution.
Love this version of vertical gardening. Bringing plants in livens a space up so quickly.
i love the upside down hanging, but how are you meant to water the plants?
The sky planter from Boskke has an internal irrigation system that you fill with water about once per week. It then feeds the water gradually so it does not flood through and drip.
In small doses I don't mind this, but too many and it just reminds me of my grandmother's house. Not in a good way.