Someone in my gardening group had posted their flowerbeds almost sheepishly because they had a small garden. So I was reminded that at one time I had a very small garden. I loved it like it was the largest garden ever created.

I had a garden apartment and I had a small courtyard garden on one side and out the other side where my living room dining room area was I had a little bit more of a garden. And I took full advantage of it. I planted two Japanese maple trees one on either side. I think it least one still exists, and underneath my apartment windows I planted roses and Russian sage and hostas and daylilies.I had a garden apartment and I had a small courtyard garden on one side and out the other side where my living room dining room area was I had a little bit more of a garden.

And I took full advantage of it.

I planted two Japanese maple trees one on either side I think it least one still exists, and underneath my apartment windows on one side, I planted roses and Russian sage and hostas and daylilies.

The courtyard garden part of my little garden had a little café table and two chairs, a brick patio, and two small flowerbeds. One flower bed was long and skinny along the common fence dividing my apartment garden from my neighbor’s. The larger bed was like a square and that had a small Japanese maple in it and various under plantings. The skinny bed was usually herbs and annuals.

I wish I had kept more photos of the garden from that time because it was actually a really cute space. But in these posts I have some of the containers I planted. And to give myself more flowers I put hanging baskets in my Japanese maple tree.

I never invested a lot of money in this garden because it was a rental apartment. But I found ways to pick up plants inexpensively, a lot of times at the local ACME market they had great plants. And I could get all my herbs and annuals for not so much money. I even managed to squeeze in a couple of roses that came from their end of season sale and they were five dollar rose bushes, but they gave me roses. I also patronized some local plant sales like the one that used to be held every year at the Gladwyne Library.

Some people couldn’t understand why all of us in our apartment building gardened. We didn’t own our apartments, they were rentals so why did we care? And it was simple — because it made it all look better and that actually made us happy. Although I loved this apartment it was a spectacularly dumpy and run down building with no charm on the outside so my courtyard garden gave it charm for me.

Large or small, a garden gives us joy. We need more of that in this world! Happy gardening.