Plant a garden in pots

You actually don't need a garden to create your own oasis at home. A balcony or outdoor space can easily accommodate many green and blooming favorites.

Urban environments may not offer endless growing opportunities, but it's entirely possible to achieve a lot by using creativity. In trend-sensitive cities like New York and Tokyo, "Urban Gardening" has long been a concept. Not only are there large gardens and parks on rooftops and old railway tracks, many people have also outfitted balconies and entryways with lush, overflowing pots.

You can create your own vibrant container garden with flowers, vegetables, and other plants. All you need is:

• Outdoor pots in different sizes
• Plants that suit where you live
• Soil that helps the plants thrive

To create a beautiful garden in pots, you should have a variety of pots in different sizes. The same goes for plants. Here are our tips:

• Plan your style and feel free to mix pots in different sizes and materials.
• Hang pots in planters and place others on shelves to build height.
• Let larger, shallow, and wide pots sit on the floor or ground for a green base.
• Mix everything from trees and shrubs to colorful flowers, vegetables, and berries.
• Make sure to create a small kitchen garden when you're at it; herbs are perfect for pots.
  

From a practical standpoint, the pots should primarily be large enough for the plants to thrive in. For seasonal plants, this is rarely a problem, but if you’re planting perennials, shrubs, and trees in the pots, there are a few things to consider – including placement, hardiness, water, and nutrients.

The style and color of the pots are, of course, also important. Choosing one style or color for all the pots gives a completely different look compared to mixing and matching pots in various colors and materials. Both styles work, so it’s all about figuring out the look you want to achieve. If you like the Mediterranean style, pale, dusty terracotta pots will enhance that vibe. If you prefer a sleek, Nordic garden, simple pots with clean lines in black, gray, beige, and soft whites will do the trick. For a romantic style, light colors are often favored, with more details in the form of textures and patterns.

Plants in red, white, and blue are of course perfect for celebrating Norway's Constitution Day on May 17th, and they can also look great throughout much of the season.

Geraniums, daisies, and bellflowers are all plants you can enjoy indoors, and they can move outside when the warmth and summer arrive. Here, you can choose the perfect combination of colors from our flag.

The flora of the Mediterranean is perfect for pots on sunny outdoor spaces and large balconies when summer heat arrives. Not only are they sleek and exotic, but they also thrive as long as you know how to care for them. Mediterranean plants such as olive trees, citrus plants, fig trees, bougainvillea, lavender, and herbs are examples of plants that can give you a Mediterranean feel at home.

Pastel-colored flowers in pots create a beautiful and harmonious look, especially when combined with pots in neutral, light colors.

Butterfly lavender, roses, pansies, garden carnations, geraniums, petunias, and dahlias are examples of plants available in delicate pastel shades, which look fantastic when paired together.

For a real party of a container garden, you can mix blooming plants in all kinds of vibrant colors.

Dahlias, petunias, geraniums, Spanish daisies, and bougainvillea are just a few of the many beautiful, colorful summer flowers you can fill your pots with. Nothing beats a mix like this if you want to bring life and joy to your outdoor space.

Summer can easily be extended when you have a garden in pots. Fill the pots with outdoor chrysanthemums in pink, purple, and white to keep the summer feeling going into the fall.

Or embrace the colors of autumn and choose outdoor chrysanthemums in red, orange, and yellow.

When the cold sets in, you can replace the summer flowers in your container garden with colorful autumn heather, coral bells, and other plants that can tolerate a little chill. Just like that, you'll have a fall garden to enjoy for many weeks ahead.

Don't forget the edible plants when planning a container garden. Herbs are excellent plants to have in pots and can easily be part of any potted garden. Or you can go all in and create an entire garden with only edible plants. In principle, you can grow almost anything in pots. Strawberries, berry bushes, lettuce, chili, mini carrots, and all sorts of herbs are just a few examples.

No matter what space or style you have – fill pots with plants! Creating a container garden doesn't have to be more complicated than that. It's the perfect method for any balcony, terrace, or outdoor space. But a "Potted Garden" isn't just for apartments or urban environments with limited green areas – you can also have pots with plants on the lawn in your garden – container gardens simply look great everywhere!

Tips from the expert:

Nadja – horticulturist and landscape planner with a special interest in potted plants, particularly climbing plants like philodendrons and monsteras.

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