Growing in a small space

You don't need to have a garden to help green up your home and improve your neighbourhood. A tiny balcony, postage-stamp patio or sunny windowsill is all the space you need to grow colourful flowers, aromatic herbs and a delicious selection of edible plants, including peas, beans, fruit, peppers and even chillies.

What to grow in your container garden
Edible produce can look just as good as flowers, working brilliantly in containers and windowboxes, scrambling up arches and even planted in hanging baskets.

■ Tomato ‘Gartenperle' Bred to be grown in containers, this self-supporting variety will tumble over its pot and produce a heavy crop of cherry-sized fruit throughout the summer.

■ Dwarf runner bean Growing just 45cm high instead of the usual two
metres, the dwarf is perfect for pots and produces a pretty flower and a
bumper crop of 20cm beans.

■ Salad leaves Just keep salad seeds well watered and you'll have a range of crisp leaves, from rocket to Gem, all year. Grow under glass or indoors in winter or pick a sunny spot in summer.

■ Pea ‘half pint' This miniature pea plant dates from 1800 and grows to just 38cm tall. It requires no support and makes an excellent, and edible, table decoration once the flowers come out.

■ Snobaby sweetcorn This variety is ready as early as September and
produces a tasty crop of baby white corn, perfect for salads and stir frying.

■ Strawberries Up to four plants can be fitted in a basic hanging basket
and by summer you'll have fruit cascading over the sides.

■ Fruit trees Apple, pear, citrus, cherry and even peach trees are decorative and produce delicious fruit. Choose dwarf rootstocks and they won't grow higher than a metre - small enough to be brought inside from the cold. 

House Beautiful's gardening expert Caroline Tilston shares her top three tips for making the most of your outside space.

Love it - If you don't love your garden you won't go out there, so make the space just for you. Think of it as an exterior room and make a
comfortable sitting space, decorate the walls and put in lighting just as you would inside. If you can make your living room look lovely you can do the same outside.

Live it - Get outside and do things in your garden. Use your outdoor space to paint a picture, have Sunday brunch with friends, practise yoga, play chess - the possibilities are almost endless.

Leaf it - The more greenery you can have in your garden the better it'll be for the environment and for you. Plants herald the changing of the seasons, keep you in touch with nature and look good, too. This is the
difference between a sitting room and a garden - the plants make the magic. 

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