Hello! I grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington and it was dry, sunny all the time and I had land galore for my own personal gardening. Now I am living in an apartment in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, where it is wet, rains rather often and I only have a 8 foot x 10 foot patio for my gardening whims. Help! I had it easy in Eastern Washington. Now I'm unsure of what the correct path would be. I would like to grow things that are pretty or useful. Strawberries sound delicious, and I might use peppers. Flowers are a must - but which ones? I live in zone 8, and my apartment faces the southeast. It gets a rather good amount of sunlight (probably about all of the morning sunlight and some afternoon). I was thinking a raised garden with several pots on the ground and three hanging pots in the corners. Maybe a lattice for vines? Money is not a problem, this is my hobby of choice. It's my lack of knowledge that is hindering me. So I am hoping to get any kind of help you may have to offer on this forum! Thank you for your time. Update: Would these be worth it? --> http://www2.yardiac.com/long.asp?item_id=10917
Those might just be a good idea... If you've only got 8x10 they can double your planting space (if, for example, you stagger the short ones under the taller ones.) Do you have railings? If you do, are they sturdy enough to hang baskets or trays off of? Do you have a roof over the patio area? If you have a roof is it a) sturdy enough to hang baskets from and b) low enough to make that feasable? Do you have a wall that you can trellis up? If you have a hanging-suitable roof, you can grow the hanging variety of strawberries, for example, or Fuschias for their beauty, etc etc etc... Absolutely try your hand at peppers, tomatoes, and their ilk. If you have trellisable space, you can try growing kiwis or melons or grapes or other viney fruits. If you like dinner and a show, try passionflowers. You can also train Sweet Millions tomatoes to grow up a trellis. With beds like the ones in your link, you can probably do some root-crop veggies as well.
