A Garden Retreat

There's nothing quite like a garden to evoke feelings of well-being. No matter what size space you are dealing with, a garden retreat is within your reach. There are a couple of ways to create this type of backyard bliss:

• Use the Walls: Most likely, your courtyard is surrounded by walls. Use them to your advantage! Grow vines on them or use them as vertical garden space.
• Containers: collect a bunch of colorful containers (flea markets are great for funky containers!), add some soil, pick a few pretty plants, and viola! You'll have an instant garden
• Raised Boxes: you can purchase garden boxes in nearly any gardening store, or you can build your own raised box. Just add soil, a couple of plants, water when necessary, and watch your garden grow .

If you are stuck with a slab of concrete for a courtyard, then you'll have to go with a container or a raised box. If you're renting, you may have to use moveable garden elements. If you are fortunate enough to have some type of soil, then you will have a few more options to select from.