After years of having a large garden and even more space to utilize if I wanted or desired, I now live in a home that is not only smaller, but the yard is considerably smaller.

The smaller yard is taken up by a pool with lots of concrete and we have dogs that need a place to potty.  We also live in a neighborhood with a HOA, so there are rules.  I can’t just dig up the rest of my yard space for a garden, so I need to be creative and grow up instead of out.

I should probably add that I’m talking about growing vegetables with a few flowers that will attract bees and butterflies.  Based on the fact that I have such little space for gardening, I’m going to utilize containers for my garden.

We have a retaining wall that runs along the back of the yard.

It provides good space for vertical gardening.  First, I’ll need to remove all the rose bushes and weeds.  I know, some of you are probably thinking it’s crazy to remove the rose bushes, especially since I have no other place to put them.  However, a family member is interested in transplanting them in their yard, so they will have a new home.

I would also like to add some trellis to the wall for growing vegetables such as cucumbers or zucchini.

The more shaded space will work well for cool weather vegetables such as lettuce and radishes.

Patio space along the house should work well for tomatoes and peppers.

I’ll also use patio space for growing flowers such as Bee Balm

and Borage.

I added a Hummingbird Feeder to the tree in the front of our house and we spent the summer watching the Hummingbirds come to feed.  Adding some Bleeding Heart to the shaded area

or hanging some baskets of Fuchsia from the arbor will help bringing in more.

Of course I can’t forget fruits in my vertical gardening.

Strawberries and blueberries are on the list and will add some beauty and color to the garden.

I’m also toying around with trying my hand at growing some citrus trees and apples in containers.  The citrus trees can be pulled inside during the winter and go back outside when the weather warms up.

I  have so many ideas and plans running thru my head, that I can’t wait to get started.

But wait . . . . . .

My past attempts at container gardening did not yield the results I had hoped for, so this is a little intimidating.  Plus, we are now living in a different Zone – 8A.  There is a lot to learn.

In gardening, soil conditions must be right for plants to grow and produce.  Those conditions become more challenging when you aren’t digging up yard space for planting.  There is a learning curve and it will take more than just dumping some dirt into a pot and planting a seed.  I’ll need to begin small and slowly, then build as I learn.

To help me along the way, I have signed up for a couple of gardening classes.  One is on container gardening and the other is on growing herbs.  I hope I leave the class knowing at least a little more than I do now.

The other project I hope to tackle soon is growing some herbs indoors.  I have some wonderful window space in my kitchen, that has done a beautiful job providing light to my house plants.  These are plants I moved from Illinois to Texas and they not only survived the move, but they are flourishing in their new home.

It is a very big window and I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to utilize the light from this window for growing herbs.  (It’s a cloudy day, so this picture came out a little dark)  Like in my yard, I need to use the space vertically and thanks to Pinterest, I think I have found the solution.

A couple sturdy curtain rods and some hanging buckets or planters will provide me plenty of space to start my indoor herb garden.

The girls, especially Lili, are excited about helping me with this project and I will be sure to share our successes and failures along the way.