Container gardening can be a joyful experience for city dwellers or people living in flats, apartments or renting a space in which they do not wish to invest loads of money on the garden.

When selecting the type of plants you want to grow, you need to consider the space which is going to be utilized for this purpose, what size containers will be needed, and whether the space is sunny and bright or cool and shady.  All these things play a huge part in determining what type of container garden you are going to create.

Terracotta Pots 

Pros: They are very traditional and come in loads of standard sizes. The root zone can breathe and they are readily available at most stores.

Cons: The cheaper pots can be very brittle. They also stain quite easily on the outside.

Wood containers

Pros: These containers are light in weight. They can be made to your specifications and painted.

Cons: Wood rots so these containers in general only really last for about two years before needing replacement.  The ones that have been lined are normally quite expensive.

Metal Containers

Cons: Unfortunately metal can rust, especially the cheaper metals.  They can also become extremely hot in sunny spaces.

Glazed pots

Pros: There is such a large variety of these available and they come in just about any shape, size or color you are looking for and are affordable to most people.

Cons: Should you not purchase all your pots at the same time you may find difficulty in matching the color at a later stage.  These containers can also be very heavy. Very cold weather can cause the glazing to crack.  They also tend to be an easy target for thieves.

Fiberglass containers

Pros: These containers come in various shapes and colors.  The material is very durable and the color is stay-fast.  They can also be made to look like other materials. i.e. wood, clay.

Cons: They scratch easily (cats and dogs) and can be quite expensive.

                                                                     

Plastic Containers

Pros: They are cheap, last forever, and you can get them anywhere.

Cons: There is not much you can do to disguise the fact that they are plastic and look like plastic.

The cons are that, depending on where your space is, it could place a limitation on your gardening  ideas.

Let your imagination run free. Container gardening is fun and low maintenance.