ideal now, the windowsill of my apartment’s living room is lined with close to 20 starter pots — each one consisting of a little, budding sprout that will soon be transferred outside to my vegetable garden. The dirt patch is tiny — between 50 and 60 square feet — but each summer it produces tomatoes, radishes, beans and herbs like cilantro, lavender and lemon thyme (my much-loved for its heavenly citrus scent). given the diminutive size of the lot, there’s very little room for anything but the plants — absolutely no space for garden gnomes! Still, a few crucial elements can make for an attractive, functional space. here are a few things I’ve been eying:
These garden markers from Crate & Barrel look like little chalkboards, but are actually made from recycled coffee cups and the “chalk” is a weather-resistant wax crayon.
My colleague Margot Austin pointed out this set of small garden tools. between 8 to 9 inches, they are tiny enough to maneuver between my firmly spaced plants (and store easily in my apartment), and are lively and playful with their different colours. Plus, at $9.50, the set of six is very affordable.
These garden stakes are long lasting because they are plastic-coated steel, so they won’t rot like wooden ones. and because they’re green, they’ll subtly recede in a mass of leaves.
I’m not sure how functional this watering can is — it might not hold enough water — but it’s cute enough to leave out by the garden!
Photo credits:1. Crate & Barrel2. Lee Valley3. Lee Valley4. Anthropologie