My husband and I live in an urban space in a historic downtown. Our business is on the main floor and we live in a loft above. It’s a great experience to live in an old building with the ability to walk to dinner, shopping, the farmers’ market, entertainment and more. But there is a tradeoff. No yard equals no garden. My husband enjoys not having to mow, but I miss my garden.

However, we are fortunate to have a rear entrance an a postage stamp of a back yard. Last year we fenced it in and set out to make it a garden space. As soon as the fence was up we could have kicked ourselves for not doing it sooner. Suddenly we had private space that softened the view of the parking lot and dumpsters.

Then it was all about bringing in good soil and doing some planting. With a limited space you have to make choices and we decided to try tomatoes, cucumbers and various peppers. We planted herbs closer to the back door, but soon ran out of room to plant. Hanging baskets and pots were the answer to getting more usable space. Several trips to the garden center later we had the courtyard looking like a jewel box. Daily watering, sun and patience led to a really lovely space where we love to spend time.

You can do a lot with a little and, in fact, you can do more because it requires less investment of time and money. Oh, and stringing up some lights helps!