Locating an Outdoor Container Garden

Choosing a good location for your outdoor container garden is essential.  If you choose the wrong location, it could mean disaster for your plants.  The right location is one in which the plants get just the right amount of sun, are protected from harm from various outside influences, and is in a convenient spot for you to care for the garden.

The most important part of choosing a location for your container garden is choosing a place where the amount of sunlight is correct for your plants.  This may mean locating part of your garden in one area of your yard, and part of your garden in another area.

If you have several plants that require a lot of sun, and several that require shade, you’ll either have to split your garden into two sections, or you’ll have to provide shade to those plants that need it. 

This can be relatively simple for a container garden.  If you just have a few plants that require shade, you can set up some sort of shade system.  Using a tarp or other shade system, you can fashion a frame over your plants that blocks sun for most of the day, depending on how much shade the plants need.  This way, you can locate your shade-loving plants with your sun-loving plants.

Next, you need to be sure to keep your plants away from the street, if possible.  Pollution from vehicles on the road might damage your plants.  Cars can also kick up dust that could settle on your plants, and their tires can also potentially throw rocks and other debris that could damage plants or break pots.

You should also try to keep your container garden as close to your house as possible.  There are several reasons why you want to do this.  First of all, you need to be able to easily reach your garden to take care of it.  If you locate the garden too far from your house, you may be hesitant to tend to it. 

Also, the closer to your house your garden is located, the less likely it is that it will be harmed by critters.  Rabbits, deer, gophers, and other garden pests don’t like to get too close to human scent.  If you keep your garden closer to your home, the animals will be able to smell your scent more strongly and might be unwilling to approach your garden.

Another great reason for locating your garden near your home is in case you need to move your plants indoors.  Sometimes you might have unexpected bad weather or other problems, and you might find a need to bring your plants inside to protect them.  If the plants are closer to your house, they’ll be easier to bring in.

If you have had a garden in a particular location in the past few years, and it had heavy infestation from insects, you might consider putting your garden in another part of your yard.  Sometimes pests will return the following year to a previous location in search of the same food they had the year before.  If you relocate your garden, you have a small chance of keeping these insects from finding your garden this year.

If you’re growing very large plants like corn, choosing the right location from the start is extremely important.  These large plants may be too heavy or too awkward to move safely, so they must be located correctly from the beginning.  Careful planning can avoid any location disasters, so be careful to plan your garden thoroughly.