Good garden spaces can be a bit less obvious

Dear Sandi: I love to garden, but our back yard is really tiny. Personally, I would fill the little space we have with flowers, but my husband wants to use the area for a few vegetables. Any solutions? —Rose J., Salem

Hi Rose: Your problem is a common one, especially in the newer developments where the amount of space devoted to garden/yard seems to be continuously shrinking.

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Even if your yard is a bit bigger, it may be in shade, limiting the amount of space you have for plants that are sun lovers.

While in Germany, France and Italy, we continuously were enchanted with the way so many of the people transformed front yards, balconies and even window boxes into beautiful and highly productive gardens.

So, my first suggestion is to take a look at what’s happening in the front yard and if there’s some unused or under used space for you there.

At my home, our front yard is the only place with enough sun to support anything edible, and we plan to create a European style front yard, complete with flowers, fruits and veggies.

Another great place to consider is the area between the sidewalk and the street.

One of our neighbors has painted old kitchen chairs bright, summery colors and used them in her curb garden to provide additional planting space and a lighthearted sense of fun. Another big advantage with this type of gardening is that it seems to bring the neighbors together, often creating a mini community gardening effort.

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When you are gardening in a space that is really small, you also want to think three-dimensionally. The same ground space can support pole beans climbing up and strawberries spreading out. I have morning glories that share the same dirt with a silk tree — everyone wants to know what type of tree has those gorgeous pink and purple flowers. You may even want to consider one of the small dwarf varieties of fruit trees to save space and increase fruit production. The old-fashioned nasturtiums always are a delightful addition to any garden of this type, adding color and insect repellent at the same time, with the added bonus of having leaves and blossoms that can be added to your favorite salad.

If all else fails, you can always resort to the “gardening in a barrel” tactic. Of course, any container with good drainage will work, but the half barrels that usually are available at the home-improvement stores this time of year offer a large amount of surface planting space. Just remember, though, that once these are full of soil and plants, they are HEAVY, so either be sure they are where you want them or place them on wheeled plant caddies before planting them.

So, Rose, take a really good look around and see what space you really have access to. I think you and your husband may be surprised to find that there is a whole lot more gardening options available to you than you had previously thought.

August 13, 2004