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Frequently the city of Chicago is portrayed as the opposite of bucolic, idyllic landscapes common to rural and suburban areas. While the traditional lawns may be hard to come by in the city, there are several things the urban Chicago home or condo owner can do to improve the curbside appearance of his or her home through gardening and to create a transcendent mini-retreat. These seven simple ideas will help to improve the quality of your life in Chicago through the use of plants and small gardens.
Plan ahead. Decide what look and feel you are going for, and then investigate what plants will best help you reach your vision. If you are in the position to be able to plant perennials, decide how you want your garden to look not only this year, but next year and the year after. Deciding on the purpose and overall feel of the garden is first, and actual selection of the plants is the very last step you take in garden planning.

Select plants for your Chicago condo or home based on the type of sun exposure and climate you have, not what you wish you had. It’s tempting to buy plants that are beautiful and interesting in spite of the fact that they need something you can’t provide. It’s easy to imagine that full sun isn’t really essential and that wiggle room is possible. Ultimately, it will just be a waste of money when your northern facing window can’t provide the amount of sun that new colorful and fussy plant needs and it will be heartbreaking when your wisteria freezes to death during the cold Chicago winter.

 
Get creative with your containers. Anything from a terra cotta pot to a child’s plastic pool to a wine barrel can be used to hold your plants. Whatever container you choose, make sure that the materials can withstand the elements if you plan to place it outdoors. Without proper treatment or careful selection of wood type, your carefully selected container may rot.

Grow your own herbs. Whether you choose to grow them outside on your Chicago condo deck or inside on a sunny ledge, growing your own herbs can be extremely rewarding. If you want to spice up your cooking, nothing makes your food look and taste better than fresh herbs in place of the dried herbs you buy at the grocery. Basil can be used on homemade pizza, on appetizers such as tomato and mozzarella slices, and in sauces. Lavender can be used not only for cooking, but also to freshen your clothes when dried and placed into a sachet. The possibilities are endless.

Hanging baskets make for a quick and easy picturesque home. There are baskets that attach to balconies and fences, and some hang from hooks that can be screwed into covered porches. Planting a few of these hanging baskets with blooming annuals and a drippy ivy can add a shot of color in an otherwise gray urban landscape.

Create a dramatic entranceway. The sides of steps leading up to your front door of your condo or townhouse provide ample opportunity to get creative with arrangements. Five or six steps are perfect for a beautiful display of complementary colors and arrangements. If your steps are wide enough, arrangements on both sides can be breathtaking. Don’t narrow the path to the door too much, however, and keep the focus on the front door.

Rethink the urban fence. Fences are frequently necessities in the urban environment, but they don’t have to be lifeless and boring. Fencing and trellises come in many forms, and you may wish to consult a gardening company as you erect your fence with an eye to providing your climbing plants a scaffold. Pertaining to climbing plants, there are more options than the ivies, so be sure to check references to find a plant appropriate for your area.

The urban garden doesn’t have to evoke images of sad, wilted plants in a shabby pot. In reality, the urban garden provides many creative possibilities regardless of whether the plant lover is a novice or an advanced gardener.