It’s that time of year: garden planning time! I got a little excited and ordered my seeds early– so they are already here. Now I just need to figure out where to plant everything. 
I had the Savvy Garden 2011 all plotted out for the space we used last year. But then we bought the house, so I’m back to square 1 on the location front. We have plenty of space, I just need to figure out how I want to organize the garden.
Want to grow your own vegetables, herbs and flowers in 2011?
Then you’re in luck, because I have a series of garden planning posts coming your way!
First things first, you need to figure out what space you have available for your garden. From a few containers in a window to a large portion of your yard, you can grow just about anywhere.
Yard. The obvious, but not always practical, choice is the yard. Choose an area that gets lots of sun. Remember, the more property you turn into a garden, the less lawn you need to mow. We’ll be using about 1/2 of our backyard for the vegetable garden, keeping the rest open for Max to run around. Our front yard is small, but a large chunk of it is going to have some flowers and herbs. Dan is excited to have less yard to maintain.
Flower boxes. You’ll want these to be on a sunny deck or window. And if they aren’t on the ground level, keep in mind what is below the boxes, as water may drip down. Don’t rain on your neighbors!
Containers. There will be a whole post about the container options and some creative solutions in the coming weeks, but again, be aware and don’t rain on your neighbors. You can also use containers to grow herbs and flowers indoors in sunny windows.
Community gardens. These are showing up in more and more communities, allowing people without sufficient space to garden together. They are definitely worth checking out!
Creative locations. Get creative…if you’re determined, you’ll find a place to garden. Hey, you could even use the back of a truck!
So who’s gardening with me? What kind of space do you have?
I’m so excited to do a container garden this year. We might be moving so this is the simplest this year. I hope to use the yard next year.
I can’t wait to read this series! We don’t have room to garden at our current place — plus it’s definitely something I want to do in the future. My dad and step mom have an AMAZING garden that I envy every season.
I’m in! It’s my first gardening season so wish me luck and I’ll be reading all your posts
Well….I have a concrete balcony about seven floors up! I did just buy a potted plant that has oregano, thyme & mint. For right now, I’m limited to these types of herbs. I’m trying to stay positive and be thankful I’m at least doing this – but I want a whole garden!
P.S. I’m going to send a “Little Things” email your way this week!
oooh me!!! we built a raised bed garden two years ago in the back yard and are going to expand it this year!
I thinking about a raised bed this year. If only the snow would melt so I could start planning!
My mom once planted a garden in one of those little turtle sandboxes!
I can’t wait for your gardening posts, I could use all the help I can get! lol
my phd research project is a summer gardening program for overweight middle school children. so i will be doing a LOT of gardening this summer (just like my past two summers!). we have garden plots at troy gardens on madison’s north side and at the east high school youth farm. we also join in and help out at a csa farm, which is crazy intense work! i love gardening and i am SO lucky that i get to do it all summer for my job!
I’m so excited to read more of your posts in this series! We’ve lived in our current house for 4 years, but this is the first year we’re planning to plant a garden. I know NOTHING about gardening, so I can use all the help I can get!
I really want to successfully grow SOMETHING this year – even if it’s only one plant! I tried last year and it was a giant epic fail. I killed a raspberry bush and a zuchini plant.
Sadly, I’m limited to containers on my balcony which is not very sunny or the ledge outside my bedroom window which gets a lot more sun but it tiny and onyl has access through the window.
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