7 Container Gardens Fit for Even the Smallest Spaces

At my apartment, there is some outdoor space, but that outdoor space doesn’t really lend itself to planting a garden. (After all, I’m not so sure I want to haul potting soil and a full watering can to the roof using a fire escape ladder.)

But my container garden dreams aren’t dashed yet. Just take a look at these seven mini gardens that have flourished despite the lack of space.

• Fire Escape Herb Garden via Inhabitat: If you have a fire escape at your disposal, you can actually create an expansive container garden. The trick is to use hanging planters (even ones made from soda bottles!) to make the most of the railings. Just be sure the fire escape is still usable.
• IKEA Cart Herb Garden via Ikea Hackers: You know we love the RÅSKOG cart from IKEA (there are seemingly infinite ways to use it around your kitchen), but the best part about using it for plants is that you can easily move it around to follow the sun in your home as the seasons change.
• Window Box Garden via Gardenista: A window box is an obvious solution if you don’t have space in your apartment or want to plant herbs and other plants that will really do better outdoors. Just be sure you choose plants that will stay in place, like basil or rosemary, and not mint, which will run rampant and crowd out other herbs.
• Vertical Herb Garden via The Domestic Heart: It’s incredibly easy to DIY one of these vertical planters. Just make sure you take into account two things: Your herbs must get enough sun and have proper drainage. So if you want to use decorative containers, use plastic pots with holes in the bottom inside.

• Greenhouse Window via Family Circle: Greenhouse windows might not be as popular as they once were, but they can definitely give you a lot of garden space for not a lot of real estate. Just make sure you choose hearty plants that can survive cold temps, or bring them away from the glass during the winter.
• Herb Window via Itsy Bits & Pieces: We’ve never seen one of these plant hangers before, but if you wanted to recreate this at home, it would be easy to simply use a metal grid wall display cut to fit your window and some hooks. You could have a lot of fun customizing it with colored spray paint as well.
• Tomatoes on the Fire Escape via Gardenista: Don’t let growing tomatoes intimidate you! You don’t need much space — just plenty of sun. Gardenista has a great guide for how to grow them on your fire escape.