Previously I wrote about having hanging baskets full of edibles as a way to enjoy gardening in a limited space such as a mobile home park, or even an apartment balcony. Here are a few more ideas for those with green thumbs.

I recently met someone who makes very unique hanging gardens. He sews burlap into a long tube, inserts a thick piece of wire about 5 or 6 inches longer than the tube and then fills the burlap tube with dirt. The wire must be bendable, but not so soft that it will lose its shape. Poke it out the bottom of the tube slightly, and bend it at a tight angle to act as an anchor. Form the top of the wire into a loop which can then be fastened to a hook and hung. These tubes of earth can be bent into coils or curves in whatever way that suits your amusement, or just left long and straight.

Plant anything in your hanging tube: strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes and basil are all suggestions I've made before. Another idea is edible flowers. Nasturtium with leaves and flowers which are both edible, is quite peppery, A bonus of nasturtium is it grows on a long vine, making it perfect for the hanging container. For a mild and sweet edible flower try pansy, or the cucumber tasting borage. All of these are easy to grow from seed.

In recent years there has been a move towards planting up more containers in the garden. At one time the only container gardening was the occasional hanging basket.

More people have transport and more disposable income that enables them to visit the big horticultural shows. To see garden designers using containerised plants on their stands or small garden plots creates the desire to copy. Garden makeover programs on television also tend to include a selection of containers.

Container gardening is for many people that think that their gardening days are over when they move to an apartment or condo. You can still grow pretty and useful plants if you opt for a container garden. There are a few rules you will have to follow when starting your container garden. The five elements that are crucial to your container garden are the pot (size for each individual plant), the soil, how much light your plants will need, watering requirements and fertilizer. For example herbs do not need big pots but they do need at least six hours of sunlight.