Front Stoop Gardens

A reader recently contacted me asking for tips and resources for creating a teeny garden on her postage stamp sized stoop. When I lived in my Seattle apartment, I loved creating little urban garden nooks. The good news is you can do quite a bit even with the smallest of spaces.

1.

If you have limited space, find interesting containers for your plants.  

Let the containers do double duty as garden art or sculptures. 

source

source

2.

You can also go vertical with cinder blocks.  They make great planters and you can stack them to create a little wall or corner piece to your stoop.  Then plan succulents or cascading plants to cover the bricks.  Check out THIS post at J. Peterson Garden Design for a little "how-to".

source

source

And look!  THESE geniuses made a little bar out of their cinder block planter.  

How cool is that?

source

3.

Check out the pallet below, wired with small terra cotta containers.  You don't even have to attach it to anything, you can simply lean it up against an exterior wall.  Its the perfect idea for renters!  Click HERE to see how Kelly Moore built this sweet vertical garden.

source

Or you can plant your garden right into the pallet.  

Check out THIS fabulous DIY tutorial at the Bridgman Garden Design blog. 

source

4.

No matter how small your space, fill it up!  Cover the walls, plant in every nook and cranny to get the most out of your garden.  If you have an overhang or eves, hang some ferns. If you have a wall, plant a climber.  If you have steps, line then with pots.  If you only have a square cement pad, create some height with plant stands.  And if you can fit a chair, then find a comfy chair and shove it in there.

source

source

5.

Hang a mirror in your garden space.  This will do to very groovy things.  First it will bring more light to your plants, which is especially good for shaded stoops and front porches that don't see a lot of sun. Second, it will make your garden space feel larger.

source

source unknown to me

6.

If you have an awning or an overhang, feel free to think outside the box and rig a vertical garden.  Check out this edible garden grown in repurposed rain gutters!  They provide much need garden real estate, shade and privacy.

source unknown to me

Here are some fun sites for urban gardeners:

1) Urban Gardens: unlimited thinking for limited spaces

2) If you fed up with your tiny concrete plot and yearn for a 

more expansive gardening experience, go to American Community Gardens 

to find a community garden near you and get yourself a plot!

3) Great article (HERE) about how to group plants in a pot.

More Ideas

And here are some more great ideas for 

stoops, steps, balconies and itty-bitty cement pads:

source

source unknown to me

source

source