Gardening in small spaces

Even if you have a tiny back yard or live in a flat where your only outside space is a balcony, then it is still possible to create a splash of colour with a tiny garden. Alternatively, you may have a small area in a larger garden, like a patio or a BBQ area, where you would like colourful blooms all Summer long.
A good way to do this is by planting in pots. You can find a vast array of gardening pots of all shapes and sizes in a good garden centre. Plastic pots are very affordable or, if you have a little more money to spend, you may like to invest in heavier, terracotta pots and/or wooden planters.
Use a good potting compost mixed with either water retaining crystals or gel. The biggest problem will be making sure that your pots do not dry out completely in warm, dry spells.
Once Easter has passed, you will find garden centres selling many varieties of bedding plants, like geraniums, lobelia, begonias, pansies, petunias and osteospermum, all of which are suitable for growing in containers. Once your flowers are planted, you will need to feed them weekly with a balanced liquid feed which will encourage abundant blooms and floral displays. Using additional hanging baskets and wall planters will also give colour at a higher level and create a more interesting display.