“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” Charles Dickens. “In March winter is holding back and spring is pulling forward. Something holds and something pulls inside of us too.” Jean Hersey. “March, when days are getting long, let thy growing hours be strong to set right some wintry wrong.” Caroline May. “One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw, is the Spring.” Aldo Leopold. “One man practicing kindness in the wilderness is worth all the temples this world pulls.”Jack Kerouac.

How to enjoy a beautiful, beneficial garden when renting or leasing your home using portable plants. Yes, enjoy a lush, lovely Garden—and keep your landlord happy—with portable plants and planters. 

Sweetly fragrant roses, perfuming the air. Sun-warmed tomatoes, sliced for a delicious Caprese salad. Vibrant, nectar-rich blooms, delighting hummingbirds and butterflies. If you crave a peaceful oasis filled with flowers, fragrance, and food, you’ll love growing a garden—even if your landlord discourages digging in the dirt.

Whether you rent a high-rise apartment or lease a cute bungalow, it’s easy to create a great garden space. Some landlords may allow you to plant whatever you’d like on their property, but the reality is–many restrictions typically apply in a rent or lease arrangement. And while adding a few annuals to a front walkway is an inexpensive way to create charm, planting shrubs, perennials, and trees on a property someone else owns doesn’t provide a good return on your investment of time or money, especially if you move.

Instead, create a gorgeous garden with portable plants: beautiful blooms, fabulous foliage, and tasty treats grown in pots, hanging baskets, and raised beds that can move with you to your next home. With a little planning, as well as the right products and plants, you can savor the pleasure of gardening without ticking off your landlord.

Before you plan anything permanent in the garden, like digging up sod or installing hardware for a vertical garden, make sure to consult with your landlord or go portable. If you’ve ever visited Switzerland and admired the overflowing, geranium-laden window-boxes decorating apartment balconies, you know it’s possible to create a gorgeous garden in a small space. The trick is to choose the right containers and plants for the biggest impact, ones that not only look great but also align with your gardening goals.

Take a look at your outdoor spaces, and consider which portable plant containers work best within those spaces: window-boxes, hanging planters, raised beds, or patio pots. If you’re looking to add a bright burst of color to your balcony or porch, window-boxes make an excellent option. While some window-boxes require installing brackets for support, which you may need to clear with your landlord, others slip over railings without the need for drilling or permanent hardware. Look for options like Slat Window-boxes.  Many of the newer window-box styles are self-watering, eliminating guesswork about when to water your plants, and portable to move to the next location if needed.

Unless you’ve chosen a self-watering container, make sure to select containers with drainage holes to avoid standing water, which can lead to root rot in plants.

Hanging baskets offer an easy way to dress up a small space. From simple wire baskets with coir liners to self-watering styles, you’ll find plenty of choices to create lush, pretty plantings for growing flowers—and even food, like strawberries or lettuce. Wall Flower Hanging Planter Saddle Bags are designed to hang over railings and fences. Plus, hanging planters move seamlessly from balconies and porches to your next garden space. They also work beautifully when hung from a shepherd’s hook to brighten small gardens.

If you want to grow your own food for garden-to-table meals, an elevated raised bed works well on balconies and patios. Self-watering options, like the Nest TruDrop Elevated Planter, offer a range of sizes and colors, letting you pick the perfect elevated bed that not only looks lovely but grows great food and flowers easily. The height makes planting and weeding a breeze, plus it fits nicely on balconies, patios, or any smaller space. An optional cover turns the planter into a mini greenhouse, protecting your seeds and plants from late freezes.

If you have a bit of yard space or a level gravel or paved area, traditional, ground-level raised beds work well for growing large amounts of food—or incorporating a pretty, practical mix of food and flowers. While some raised beds require a bit of construction, most are easily disassembled to move with you to your next home. Some raised beds require no construction, like Birdies Metal Raised Garden Beds. Available in a wide range of sizes and colors, these beds arrive ready to place in your garden space, fill with soil, and start planting immediately. Plus, because the beds are constructed from aluzine steel, they’ll last 20 years—and move easily with you to your next garden.

For easy-to-assemble, raised beds, Self-Watering Elevated Cedar Planter Box, 2’ x 4’ makes a good home for larger plants with deep root systems, like tomatoes and blueberry bushes. These no-bend garden boxes keep plants hydrated via a series of innovative, connected reservoirs that deliver water to roots on demand. They’re easy to disassemble and move, too, making them a practical option.

Maybe you’d like to grow a mix of annual and perennial flowers to beautify your outdoor space, food for delicious garden-to-table meals, and shrubs to add structure, texture, and privacy. You can even add small trees to your outdoor living area to provide vertical interest, as well as habitat for wildlife. The best part is—you can grow all of your favorite plants in pretty pots, perfect for enjoying in your current rental space—and ideal for moving your garden to your next home. You’ll find a huge assortment of patio pots to meet all of your needs.

This fact sheet is provided as an educational service of the National Garden Bureau (www.ngb.org/portable-plants).

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6. “For your Maker is your husband — the Lord Almighty is His name — the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9. “I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show Myself holy through you before their eyes.” Ezekiel 36:23.

Eddie Seagle is a Sustainability Verifier, Golf Environment Organization (Scotland), Agronomist and Horticulturalist, CSI: Seagle (Consulting Services International) LLC, Professor Emeritus and Honorary Alumnus (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College), Distinguished Professor for Teaching and Learning (University System of Georgia) and Short Term Missionary (Heritage Church, Moultrie). Direct inquiries to csi_seagle@yahoo.com.