7 Fabulous Ideas for Container Gardening ...

One of my favorite ideas for container gardening is to use plastic water bottles as plant pots. If you drink bottled water, it's a great way of giving the bottles a second life. Smaller bottles are ideal for growing seedlings, while larger bottles make excellent pots for flowering plants. Carefully cut off the top of the bottle and make some holes at the bottom for water to drain.

If you can get your hands on catering-sized cans, they can be converted into fabulous plant pots. Cans look especially good when hanging up; either drill holes in either side to pass wire or string through, or wrap around the can if it has a lip. To make them look pretty, you can paint designs on the can - let your artistic imagination run free!

Herbs are ideal for a container garden, as they tend not to grow too large (aside from mint, which should always be grown in containers anyway). Plant up a mix of your favorite herbs and you'll always have lovely fresh herbs to add to your cooking. If your herb garden is very productive, you can dry or freeze the glut.

Believe it or not, you don't actually need a large garden to grow fruit. There are a number of varieties of fruit that have been specially bred to grow in pots. These include pretty much everything from peaches to plums. The plants will need a lot of sun and watering, but you'll be rewarded with delicious organic fruit.

An obvious choice for container gardening is to plants lots of flowers. It's a fabulous way to brighten up a balcony. You can fill lots of containers quite cheaply if you grow flowers from seeds or beg cuttings from a neighbor. Remember to deadhead the plants (nip off the dead flowers), and they will keep producing new flowers until the end of the season.

You don't just have to grow flowers in your containers. Flowers and foliage plants (plants that don't flower) also make a great combination. Plant one large foliage plant in the center and surround it with flowers, or grow flowers in the center and trailing plants around it.

Finally, be creative and use unusual objects as containers. People use all kinds of objects that they have or find, including old china, colanders and wheelbarrows. Hunt around yard sales and flea markets to see what you can find. The beauty of using unusual objects is that it gives your container garden a completely unique look and a new life to unwanted items.

Container gardening is ideal for people with limited space, but works just as well if you have a big garden with flower beds. Some pots filled with flowers brightens up a paved area, or position them so that you can see them through the window on dull days. The possibilities are endless, and you can cram in as many containers as your space allows. What would your perfect garden be like?