Blooming Opportunities as a Renter: Welcome New Year with a Fresh Balcony Floral Arrangement
In a bustling city apartment, a budding gardener has transformed a once barren balcony into a thriving oasis of greenery and colour. The individual, who recently moved into their new home last year, found the perfect opportunity to cultivate their passion for gardening in a space that offers more sunlight and room than their previous rental units.
The journey began when the resourceful renter discovered trellises and a plant cage for free from the Local Buy Nothing Group. This serendipitous find sparked the idea of creating a container garden, filled with an array of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. The new space provided hope for a thriving container garden, despite the challenges that come with gardening while renting.
Eager to make the most of their newfound garden, the individual started scouring for gardening supplies to keep costs down and reduce environmental impact. Unfortunately, thrift stores didn't yield any useful finds, but the individual was undeterred. They turned to online community groups, local gardening clubs, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace for used gardening items.
Two planter caddies have already been purchased, and the individual was able to find railing planters at half the price of buying them new on these platforms. The icing on the cake came during a local "spring clean" event, where the individual found plant pots, a plastic shelf, a chair for a plant stand, and a rustic old window for free on the curb.
With the essentials in place, the individual started planning their container garden. The list includes strawberries, peas, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes in a potato bag, radishes, beets, mint, basil, kale, cucumbers, bee and pollinator-friendly flowers, and possibly one more herb if space allows. The individual is particularly excited to grow potatoes in a grow bag for the first time and to experiment with companion planting.
To ensure success, the individual is reading various resources, including "How to grow strawberry plants in pots" by The Spruce, "Beginner gardener tips and mistakes to avoid" by CBC Life, "Companion planting list" by West Coast Seeds, "How to prune peppers" by Rural Sprout, "How to grow food vertically" by Rural Sprout, and "How to grow potatoes in a grow bag" infographic by West Coast Seeds.
The individual, who is still new to gardening, is seeking advice to tend the garden. They are also hoping to have success with pepper plants and are reading about how to prune them. To save money and reduce waste, the individual is following tips on using self-watering planters, choosing containers with good drainage, and opting for lighter-colored pots to help keep roots cooler.
As the gardening season approaches, the individual is looking forward to maintaining a thriving and sustainable container garden. They are keeping fingers crossed for good growing weather and are excited to see their hard work come to life. By following these tips and staying resourceful, this renter is proving that a beautiful garden can bloom even in the heart of the city.
- Embracing a reusable lifestyle, the individual continues to search for recycled materials to cultivate their home-and-garden, even discovering a plant caddy and railing planters at a fraction of their original cost.
- In an effort to minimize the garden's environmental footprint, the budding gardener is deliberately choosing environmental-friendly gardening practices, such as opting for self-watering planters and planters with good drainage.
- With a natural passion for gardening, the resourceful renter is especially drawn to environmental purposes; their container garden will include pollinator-friendly flowers, contributing positively to the local environment and attracting beneficial insects.
