- Allison N.

Like many other Linea Pelle lovers, I’m a girl from the suburbs. Let’s face it; we don’t all live in LA or NYC. I spent many summer evenings growing up helping my dad in his backyard garden. It wasn’t terribly large, but it managed to keep our family supplied with fresh tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, raspberries and squash for a few months each year.

Now that I’ve got a place of my own in the middle of the city, I’m trying to recreate that delicious experience in my own way with my own style. Using Mother Nature to feed you and your friends, as well as decorate your space, is something that anyone can do no matter where you live. You just need a small patch of sunshine-visited solid ground. Here are four plants you can grow that will keep your belly happy and your patio, balcony, deck or backyard looking fresh and stylish:

Citrus Trees. I was gifted a Meyer Lemon tree a couple years ago at Christmas. I had no idea what to do with it, but it looked awesome so I was immediately in love. Turns out, Meyer Lemons are easy to grow both indoors and out. I live in an area where it’s hot in summer and cold in winter, so I keep my tree in a pot that I can move inside or outside depending on the temperature. When my lemons are ripe, I like to make pies and lemon curd. In addition to the yum factor, citrus trees are vibrant, fragrant, and make an impact in your living room when it’s snowing outside.

Herbs. Around here, herbs can be fairly pricey at the grocery store – $5.00 for a little, withered tub of basil? No thanks! Herbs are probably the easiest thing you can grow because many of them are essentially weeds. Herbs like mint, thyme, and oregano spread like wildfire with hardly any upkeep. I’d recommend starting out with some basil or mint first, because I find them to be the most useful — think pesto and mojitos. Stick some in a pot and make sure they get plenty of sun and water.

Greens. Greens do best in moderate temperatures. I like to grow them in pots on my deck in Spring and Fall when it’s not too hot or cold. Just put some soil in a pot, sprinkle the seeds in, cover lightly with soil, water, and then reap the rewards. I love that greens look like big leafy bouquets.  Swiss Chard is lovely — hot pink, orange, and golden yellow. Keep picking the leaves from the outsides of a bunch and new leaves will grow for weeks. Salad never tasted so good.

Tomatoes. Tomato plants have the ability to grow to massive proportions as I’m learning that this year. I have a few plants that are taller than me (and I’m 5’10”)!  However, these plants are extremely flexible. You can train them to spread out over the ground or climb a trellis like a vine, or to grow straight and tall with the help of a pole. One of the newest space saving ways to grow this fruit is upside town with products like the Topsy Turvy.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm and is filed under Gardening, Health, LP's Favorites: Food, Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.