A common drawback of living in a small space is a lack of outdoor room. High-rises and city apartments don't always come with porches or patios, much less a full backyard. Fortunately, there are a lot of small planters designed to help people grow flowers, plants, and herbs indoors.
- Woolly Pockets at Sprout Home: Made from wool felt and recycled plastic bottles, these wall pockets allow you to create an indoor vertical garden. The felt is great for aerating plant roots, and a built-in moisture protector keeps walls from being damaged. They're available at Sprout Home for $30 - $250.
- Sun Shelf from Gardener's Supply: If your apartment doesn't get a lot of sun, Gardener's Supply sells a "sun shelf" that has built-in full spectrum lamps to nurture plants in low-light environments. They're stackable, but one double shelf ($180) is just the right size to serve as a side table.
- Air Apparent from James Modern Terrariums: Glass terrariums are visually lightweight, sculptural, and look great in the center of a table or on a bookshelf. Air plants, like the ones shown in this $300 modern terrarium, are especially good for this kind of arrangement, since they don't require soil to grow. Just mist them or soak them in water every once in a while. For tips on making your own terrarium, see this post.
- Simple Garden by FertileEarth: We saw this new product at the Home & Housewares show in Chicago last month. It's a $25 kit that comes with seeds, a recycled plastic planter, soil, and instructions for starting a container garden. Easy to follow instructions make it a good starter kit for beginners. You can also buy a grow light for $25 if your apartment has low light.
- Large Hanging Planter at Chiasso: Hanging planters don't take up floor space, and they're perfect for spider plants, ivy, or anything that likes to spill over the pot. This one is $58 from Chiasso.
SHOP FOR CONTAINER GARDENS ON MARKETPLACE
• Plants and Garden Supply
RELATED POSTS
• Indoor Gardening: How to Grow More Than Herbs
• The Indoor Vegetable Garden
• 4 New Indoor Ways to Grow a Garden
• Best Self-Watering Solutions for Container Gardens
• Best Plant Containers for Small Spaces
Photos: Woolly Pockets, Gardener's Supply, James Modern Terrariums, FertileEarth, Chiasso
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Ercol Bar Stool
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Love the Woolly Pockets - make such a great self sufficient garden and take advantage of vertical space.
Flora Grubb Gardens also has a great vertical garden container that allows you to plant as if planting a mosaic:
http://www.urbansherp.com/how-does-your-garden-grow
The Urban Worm offers a few products dedicated to apartment dwellers with limited space. Check out our worm bins and our container garden for inspiration.
theurbanworm.com