Well, it’s the first week of May now, and I’m well on my way to a full-fledged, thriving aboveground garden. I guess now is as good a time as any to reflect on the differences I’ve noticed between it and previous gardens, those traditional in-the-dirt ones.

• No weeds. Bang, number one benefit right here. I’m working entirely from bagged potting soil, so it’s sterilized and pre-enriched. Not very DIY, I know, and it’s kind of expensive. But it is FANTASTIC to grow only the plants that I intend to, with no interlopers getting a free ride.
• Literally RIGHT THERE. I’ve never had a garden that was literally ten steps from my sofa. Even window boxes haven’t had that same sense of locality.
• Dries out quickly. Unfortunately, this is the main drawback of container planting for me. Those suckers dry out real fast when it’s hot and sunny. I often spend about 15 minutes before work, just running back and forth to the faucet so they won’t shrivel up during the day.
• Portable. This is another awesome part of container gardening, because it means that I can plant them earlier in the season. If it gets too cold, I just haul ‘em inside!

All in all, I’m very happy to report that my container gardening has been a big success. My plants are thriving, my lettuce is out of CONTROL, and I’ve already been using my herbs for sexy dinner preparations. I’m looking forward to summertime grill parties out on the balcony, with music and strings of lights in the warm balmy air. We’re entering the long hot season at this point, and my veggies and I are ready for prime time!