For small spaces it's important to go vertical and the same applies to small gardens. When space is at a minimum use vertical tiered planters to maximize a small balcony or patio and create a lush corner of plants and flowers:
Look! Small Space Tiered Planter
Sure you can buy one of these planters (here and here) or you can make your own version by creating some shelving outdoors with some cinder blocks and sealed plywood planks. Place pots atop or go all in and build one of these planters yourself (bonus points if anyone can break it down and tell all of us how). Another idea we saw was this great use of stacking old crates to take advantage of some vertical space in a tiny spot. Also if you have an issue with privacy you can plant bamboo in your top tier and it will grow to become a screen.
Take it one step further and try out a living wall (more examples here and here.)
Comments (8)
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these things look really nice, and are a fun, lush looking garden. but, in reality, their footprint is no smaller than a flat garden that has the same amount of actual growing space.
view amt230's profile
Hrm, amt, you're right.
Thanks, I saved a lot of time and expense cuz I originally thought it was pretty neat...:)
Still, the bamboo idea is good. Putting bamboo in with regular plants wouldn't work, as it takes over. In fact, this might work if you were planting different things with different water requirements, too.
Other than that, yea, why bother?
view tinka777's profile
amt is right that it takes up the same amount of ground space, but I guess the beauty is that it can be placed flush against a wall, it's easier to reach up than across a flat bed, and the things in the middle get the same amount of sunlight since they are slightly raised.
view LilyC's profile
The amount of exposed earth is the same, but you would get more production with the tiered garden. If you planted that closely on the ground the plants would compete for space and sunlight.
That said, this seems like a lot of wood to use to get a riser effect.
view mrs yow's profile
A more efficient small space design would be to have "shelves" of containers. I create that effect using two long benches stacked on top of each other. you can put your less sun-demanding veggies on the lower levels. then I have three times the growing space for the same footprint.
view amt230's profile
great idea amt230!
view laure's profile
I think part of the idea is that you can plant things that need a lot of depth for their roots at the top, such as tomatoes, and plants that need less soil depth at the bottom.
view dearmisha's profile
I always wondered if it would be possible to stack planters like an apartment building.
view webherring's profile