How to Create a Magnificent Garden within a Metorpolitan Area

The best place in the world for a garden is a city apartment patio or penthouse. A perfect garden amid all the "hubbub" is the an escape. You can have a "lush" blooming flower box or patio garden, no matter your rental station in life. Just follow the steps here for a city dweller's instructions in gardening.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. There are the three requirements for gardening success (in an urban environment). The first requirement is to attain the proper soil. Observe the conditions within your garden wherein plant growth appears successful, then purchase plants accordingly. Remember planting in a city atmosphere requires much more detail of thought than planting country-side. What with smog, and skyscrapers blocking light, starting from "scratch" and making observations as to what grows best in city soil is the best course of action.
   
   Secondly, experiment with the soil until you fundamentally determine what keeps your "fair" garden thriving. Ask your gardening retailer for advice as to soil preparation, as it pertains to the plants you prefer and your special set of circumstances. Not only are you observing which plants grow best, you also will be seeking the ideal soil preparation.
   
   Last, after you have observed what plants grow successfully in your city garden and have determined the best possible soil conditions, purchase only the plants that have thrived. Don't re-buy plants that do not flourish the first go-around no matter how much you like them. By this point, you've planted a number of different varieties, testing their longevity under the "rigors" of city elements. Also, you should have attained advice from the greenhouse as to proper soil treatment for your selections. Easily, the plants that thrived are the clear "winners" in terms of your future gardening efforts. Brown, dried weeds will not make a pretty terrace. With your list of acceptable flowers, buy a healthy variety of bulbs, seeds and plants.

2. Consider the plants you are purchasing. For instance, if your terrace is in a "shaded" area it is not wise to begin your "scratch" garden with flowers needing lots of sun in order to grow well. Petunias, Pansies, Geraniums, Nasturtiums, and Marigolds all need strong sunlight in order to bloom. If you planted such flowers in a highly shaded setting, you will have "no luck." Yours will be a garden of dried leaves. However, if your patio is in a "sunny" domain, your selection of petunias is an ideal choice.

3. Consider the soil wherein you plant your bulbs or flowers. Let us say the soil in which your plant was packed is worn out, sour and just too acidic for anything, but possibly a rhododendron. On top of this challenge, plants, seeds and bulbs were "shoddy" as far as "best" quality. By providing ideal soil and first-rate or "pedigreed" seeds, your plants might have had a semi-shot of success in even partial shade.

4. The next step you will learn is how to set up a city garden in deep shade. (If this step does not apply to you, feel free to move on to Step Number 5.) The first thing individuals must realize with "shady" backyards is that in summer and autumn, the predominant, almost exclusive color of their garden will be green. Daylilies, tuberous-rooted Begonias, Jack-in-the-Pulpits and Pitcher plants fare satisfactorily under "shady" circumstances.
   
   Begonia bulbs should be purchased and started in pots inside during the months of March and April. Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Begonias, and Pitcher plants thrive only in a shaded environment.
   
   Daylilies do better in sun; however, will still grow under shadier conditions.
   
   Although, a shady environment means more green than color, orange
   Daylillies and Begonias with a color range of white to scarlet are two exceptions.
   
   Spring bulb flowers meaning Hyacinths, Iris, Tulips, and Daffodils do very well in a shaded area.
   
   If you wish to continue the success of your garden in June, spring flowers must yield to shrubs, trees, vines, and ferns. However, the greenery need not be completely colorless. You may like to try growing Rose of Sharon--a tree with pink, white or lavender flowers; Rhododendrons with blossoms of the same color, Rose bushes, Rambler and Climbing Roses. Wisteria, and Sweet Potatoes stand a chance of "catching" some sun even with the surface of the soil, where you are planting in continual shade.

5. Penthouse do's and dont's follow. If you are a city-dweller, however do not meet the profile of Penthouse gardener, you may move on, if you wish, to Step Seven. Steps Five and Six will cover Penthouse gardening.
   
   The first problem incurred in Penthouse gardening attempts is the wind. The blowing of wind on a twenty-something terrace can make a scattering of plants before there is even a chance that the plants may flourish.
   
   The second dilemma is water. Even though surface dirt may appear damp; underneath, the soil can be immeasurably dry. Flowers grow from boxes in a penthouse scenario. Many times, it is next to impossible to get enough soil in the boxes to hold water. The water that is sprinkled on the flowers easily evaporates.
   
   The last condition of non-success in penthouse gardening is soil that is "slack" in nutrients. If the soil is not revitalized each spring, plants may suffer.

6. Additionally, correct flower selection is important in Penthouse gardening. Just as flowers requiring sunlight will not bloom successfully in a well-shaded area, tall flowers with delicate blossoms will not fare well at all in a continually windy environment. It will matter little if the gardener's soil and products are top-rate when the flowers are unsuitable for the environment.
   
   Better selections include small-sized Petunias instead of the tall variety of flower. Tiny French Marigolds and Dwarf Zinnias are good selections.
   
   Also Geraniums, Portulaca, Dwarf Phlox, Pinks, Candytuft, Pompons, and Daisy Chrysanthemums are more suitable for windy situations.

7. The next set of suggestions are for the "city-dwellers" who use the window box. The window box gardener suffers some of the same pitfalls of gardening as the backyard and penthouse city dwellers, meaning placing the wrong plants in shaded areas as well as wind and not enough water. There is, however, one added problem and that is "cramming" too much into too small of space.
   
   Window box gardeners should be aware as to whether or not their plants are appropriate for a shady environment, as well as a windy environment. Also they should assure the soil is well nourished. The problem of small space can easily be resolved by using small plants.

8. Herein, three situations have been described: patio or backyard gardens, porch or penthouse terrace and balcony or window box. The entire range of tough city-garden problems has been covered. Whatever city garden you are planning, the problem areas may be found in one of the three preceding groups. Now that you know what they are move onward one step further to gardening success: "Nip your gardening concerns in the bud."

Tips & Warnings

• Other flowers that may survive in shady environments include Hydrangeas, Honeysuckle, Forsythia, Clematis, Fuchsia, English Daisies, and California Poppies. The flowers prefer sun so do not be astounded if the preceeding list does not survive in shade. Note I stated may survive, not will survive. So if you buy any of these flowers, you are taking somewhat of a "gamble" as it pertains to a shady area.
• The neat trick of planting Sweet Potatoes in your "fair" garden is that the plants are capable of supplying an enormous amount of vines at "lightning-fast" speed and "down the road," should the vines grow high enough to attain any sun, the result is a display of small blue flowers--simply beautiful and most unexpected!
• One thing to avoid if you need to scale down your gardening is the use of multiple pots. In this situation, plants must try to thrive in less soil. In summer with the humidity and heat as factors this can be disastrous. Besides being unhealthy for the plants, the multiple grouping of small, medium and large potted plants looks unattractive. Have real flower boxes made for your gardening purposes. The result will be that your plants will look more as if they are part of a "real" garden, and accordingly, they will grow more like they are in a "real" garden.
• If you are planting a backyard city garden, depending whether your garden is in sun or shade, you may want to refer to the list of plants found in Steps Four and Six as to plants that thrive well in shade and wind, respectively. Also, there is a small list of plants that do well in sunny areas suggested in Step Two.