You don’t need land to grow plants. Show us your small-space container garden
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Once upon a time, Southern California was full of homes with yards full of gardens. Growing food was a given for many families, especially during the lean times such as the Great Depression and World War II.
These days, however, the need for affordable homes has moved many SoCal residents into townhouses, condos and apartments, where the “yard” is often nothing more than a small patio, balcony or deck.
Although various circumstances have removed many of our traditional yards, the yearning to garden remains. And many people have gotten creative with containers, growing tomatoes and lemon trees in pots or supported by trellises, strawberries in hanging baskets and even wildflowers in wide containers.
Barbara Chung was so inspired by California native plants that she created a vibrant habitat garden with some 200 mostly native plants on her tiny townhouse patio in Santa Monica despite warnings that they wouldn’t survive. “I decided that couldn’t be right,” she said. “And I would find a way to have native plants thrive in containers.”
Here are plants and flowers to enjoy, one for every month of the year, from lilacs, camellias and poinsettias to native buckwheat, wildflowers and toyon.
I know there are more creative gardeners out there, creating tiny farms or habitat gardens on their patios, and I want to share their stories.
Fill out the form below describing your small-space garden, and I may contact you later this spring for a story. Thanks for sharing.
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