You are probably reading this article because you have a passion for gardening. The only reason you don’t have your own garden because you live in an apartment, or you have a home with no yard. Well fortunately, you have container gardening as a solution to this problem. These small little beautiful things offer you great adaptability as they can be moved practically anywhere to suit the needs of the place, and the containers themselves, if picked out carefully, add a lot of color to your outdoor décor. I am listing down 7 basic tips that would get even your grandmother started on container gardening, and I hope they will really help you make the most out of your container gardens.

1. The foremost important thing is choosing the container itself. You could really have a lot of complications with the wrong choice, as the plastic ones have a tendency to deteriorate in sunlight and the wooden ones conveniently rot over time. If you ask me, a good choice would be clay or ceramic, but beware, clay ones can absorb a lot of water, so be sure to check your soil if you choose that. You should also make sure that the containers you choose have wide openings.
2. Another key point is your drainage. If you have standing water in your pot, it will rot your roots. Make sure your containers have some ½ inch holes at the bottom, and make sure to line the bottom of your container with newspaper so only water seeps out.
3. The third point you should keep in mind is that you need good quality soil that would provide your plants with all the necessary growth nutrients.
4. Sunlight is also important when considering container gardening. Most container plants require somewhere around five hours of sunlight each day, and they may also need to be watered each day. You have to check yourself about the watering requirements of the plants, if the soil is dry all the way down to the bottom, you might want to water it.
5. The size of the container mainly depends on the type of plants you want to grow. Big deep pots will be required for vegetable plants. There is a wide range of sizes available, ranging anywhere from 15 to 120 quarts. It’s up to you to decide what size you would need, because it is you who are growing the plants.
6. You might also want to consider hanging baskets for plant containers, but you have to keep a close watch, as they tend to dry out real quick.
7. Placing your containers is also something you might want to plan before buying out stuff. Grouping them effectively to match the place you are putting them in, is an important factor to think about. Make sure you have some space on the bottom, or a soft surface for drainage.

In addition to those tips, here are some plants suitable for container gardening:

Alyssum, Begonia, Geranium, Marigold, Pansies, Petunias, Zinnias