How to Grow a Successful Container Garden in Your Backyard

Container gardens are a bright and beautiful way to liven up your backyard with pops of color. You can even grow your own produce! They’re easy, compact, affordable, and customizable to your preferences. There’s a bit more to it than simply putting flowers in a planter, though, so we’ve got a few helpful tips to ensure your garden has its best chance to thrive.

1. Select a Good Container

First things first in container gardening 101—you need a container for your garden. When it comes to container gardening, there’s an endless variety of container supplies to choose from, including ready filled planters, garden patch planters, plant growing tables, and more. If you have space and are interested in growing multiple plants together, garden patch planters or plant growing tables might be viable options for you. To fit more plants into a smaller yard, consider purchasing tiered gardening shelves. Or, if you’re a beginner, garden kits may be the perfect fit for you.

No matter what size and type of container you choose, it’s essential to make sure that it has adequate holes for drainage, otherwise your plants may get too wet and rot.

2. Consider a Garden Kit

Garden kits are excellent options for beginners and those starting a new garden. One such brand is EarthBox, whose garden kits make gardening convenient and enjoyable by providing low-maintenance, ready-to-go gardening systems. Additional EarthBox accessories range from seeds to automatic watering systems to plant stands and more. GrowBox is a similar brand, focused on growing shallow root vegetables. Garden kits such as these eliminate the need to gather lots of different supplies, as they provide nearly everything you need to start a successful garden.

3. Think About Your Local Climate

Once you have your container, your next step is to consider the best environmental factors for your garden and the plants you want to grow, including their watering needs, light/shade requirements, and temperature tolerance. It’s important to keep your local climate in mind when selecting plants so your garden is set up for success before you even begin planting. Check out our guide on spring planting in Arizona to learn more about this arid region’s best planting practices.

4. Select Your Plants Wisely

A handful of additional factors go into successfully choosing plants to populate your new garden. After considering the climate, think about your container as well—if you only have one container but want different kinds of plants, you’ll need to determine if your plants are compatible with each other. How big will each plant grow? Do they have similar watering and light needs? Do they require the same type of fertilizer? Can they thrive in the same climate? It’s a good idea to save the tags on your plants so you can easily reference the particular needs of each species.

Once you determine a plan for planting and preparing your garden, you’re ready to start.

5. Acclimate Your New Plants

Plants, too, can experience a sort of culture shock when their environment changes. Many plants aren’t happy to be moved suddenly to a different temperature, amount of light, and other such factors. If you’re transplanting your new plants, consider starting them off inside before gradually introducing them to the backyard. This will give your plants time to adjust to new environmental factors and make for a healthier garden. You can read more in-depth about acclimation in our spring planting post.

6. Don’t Get Discouraged

Sometimes plants just don’t make it—it’s an unavoidable reality. Even the most talented gardeners will lose some plants along the way. Not to mention arid regions are notoriously tricky for gardening, especially if you’re just starting out, so be kind to yourself and simply care for your plants as best you can. You may have to try different types of plants if you can’t get one species to thrive, such as switching to drought-resistant succulents if your plants keep drying up.

As long as you select your plants carefully, consistently follow each of their care guidelines, and practice a little patience, your garden is sure to grow healthy and make a stunning addition to your backyard.

Communities You Can Thrive In

At Christopher Todd Communities, you have all the space you need to enjoy growing your own container garden in between relaxing swims in the pool and lounging on the Event Lawn. Our residents enjoy luxury smart homes with private, maintenance-free backyards—so you can worry less about the yardwork and focus on your budding blooms. Swap gardening tips with neighbors at our frequent resident events, or take a walk around the beautiful community paths to find inspiration. You can view our communities here.

Written By

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Christopher Todd

Christopher Todd Communities creates neighborhoods and communities for people to enjoy, share, and live. Here, you’ll find luxury, single-story, rental homes in gated, planned communities that are professionally managed. These come complete with amenities designed for socializing, energizing, for peace of mind, and even for pets.