Amsterdam :: Inspiring Urban Container Gardening

Last weekend we headed off to Amsterdam for a long weekend away. I fell in love with the city and felt really inspired while I was there. I loved the tulips, the elegant bikes with baskets, picturesque canals and bridges, and the simplicity of Dutch design seen in the little boutique shops and cafes. We spent lots of time soaking up the laid back city atmosphere over many coffees, pancakes and beers.

With many of the residents in Amsterdam's inner city living in apartments or houseboats, space for growing plants is at a premium. But the residents have made the most of all the space they have using practical and simple container gardening carried out in the smallest of urban spaces...

The city's canals were lined with simple square containers packed with tulips, brightening grey pathways and ensuring the urban dweller is greeted with floral treats as they walk the many canals...

A single pot of pansies provides a softening feature to a set of grey stone steps leading to a front door...

...a collection of plants balanced in a mixture of containers on the roof of houseboat, bring an urban garden close to the waters edge...

...a pot of cheerful daffodils sun themselves on a blue bench...

...and more daffodils in a simple terracotta pot on a wooden seat greets visitors with a bright mass of yellow contrasting against the black front door

An impressive collection of container plants are packed onto a street level space...

...and when you look up at the tall town houses there are pots of purple pansies with the best roof top views high above the city...

I hope that some of these pictures and ideas will inspire you to start container gardening, however little space you have at home. They certainly inspired me!

Today is the last day of National Gardening Week but tomorrow I'll bring you my final post of the week celebrating my new love of container gardening.