SMALL STARTS, GOOD THINGS

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Simple steps for your own little patch of green.

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Spinacia oleracea
THE ONE-POT PROJECT

A little pot of greens.

Grow spinach in four simple steps ↗

Your next little project

52 growing guides
Spinacia oleraceaVegetables

Spinach

Four plants. One pot. Fresh greens.

SeedsCool weather
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Ocimum basilicumHerbs

Basil

A sunny pot, a handful for dinner.

Nursery startWarm weather
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Mentha spica plantHerbs

Mint

Fresh leaves, kept happily in their own pot.

Nursery startOutdoor herb
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A pile of harvested cherry and cocktail tomatoes.Vegetables

Cherry tomato

One roomy pot. Tomatoes within reach.

Nursery startWarm weather
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Flower heads (some still in bud) with orange & yellow flowers.Flowers

French marigold

A bright spot on the front steps.

Nursery startAfter frost
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Zinnia elegansFlowers

Zinnia

A small pot of summer color.

Nursery startWarm weather
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Trailing vine with green and yellow, heart-shaped leaves.Houseplants

Pothos

A little green for your bookshelf.

Small plantIndoor plant
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FormHouseplants

Snake plant

For the gardener who sometimes forgets.

Small plantIndoor plant
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Bright green, loose ruffled leaves of Ashbrook lettuce growing in soil.Vegetables

Leaf lettuce

Four small plants. Pick a few leaves for lunch.

SeedsCool weather
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Small round red radishes growing at the soil surface beneath green leaves.Vegetables

Radish

Nine little roots. A satisfying first harvest.

SeedsCool weather
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Dense, deeply curled green leaves on a mature curly kale plant.Vegetables

Kale

One leafy plant. Pick from the outside in.

Nursery startCool weather
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A green bell pepper with broad lobes hanging from a leafy garden plant.Vegetables

Bell pepper

One sunny pot. Sweet peppers to pick.

Nursery startWarm weather
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Fresh cilantro plants with bright green lobed leaves in nursery pots.Herbs

Cilantro

A fresh handful for tacos, from your own pot.

SeedsCool weather
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A clump of common chives with slender green leaves and round purple flower heads.Herbs

Chives

Snip a few leaves. Finish dinner.

Nursery clumpPerennial herb
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Purple-pink funnel-shaped petunia flowers with darker veins among green leaves.Flowers

Petunia

A pot of color for the front steps.

Nursery startAfter frost
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A yellow Henry Wilde sunflower bloom opening around a dark central disk.Flowers

Dwarf sunflower

A little sunflower, right outside your door.

SeedsWarm weather
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Flat, deeply divided green parsley leaves on slender stems.Herbs

Parsley

Fresh leaves for dinner, a few stems at a time.

Nursery plantMild outdoor weather
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A rosemary shoot with narrow green needle-like leaves.Herbs

Rosemary

One sunny pot, with fragrant sprigs for the kitchen.

Nursery plantWarm outdoor growing
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A pile of harvested slender green snap-bean pods.Vegetables

Bush bean

A few crisp green beans, without a tall trellis.

SeedsWarm weather
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Long green cucumbers hanging from a leafy vine in a greenhouse.Vegetables

Cucumber

One sunny pot, with crisp cucumbers to slice.

SeedsWarm weather
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A red nasturtium flower with a yellow center among green stems and leaves.Flowers

Nasturtium

Two seeds, one pot, and a bright little splash of red.

SeedsFrost-free weather
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A bee visits a pink-and-white cosmos flower with a yellow central disk.Flowers

Cosmos

Feathery leaves and flowers to cut for a little vase.

SeedsWarm, frost-free weather
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A spider plant with arching green-and-white striped leaves and hanging plantlets.Houseplants

Spider plant

A fountain of leaves, with little plants to share.

Small plantIndoor plant
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A potted ZZ plant with upright stems and glossy green leaflets.Houseplants

ZZ plant

Glossy green leaves. Plenty of time between drinks.

Small plantIndoor plant
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A dill plant with upright stems and fine, feathery green foliage.Herbs

Dill

A few feathery sprigs for potatoes, fish, or pickles.

SeedsMild, frost-free weather
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A thyme sprig with tiny narrow green leaves held against a dark gardening glove.Herbs

Thyme

Tiny fragrant leaves from one small, sunny pot.

Nursery plantOutdoor herb
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Harvested orange carrots piled together with their cut stem ends facing forward.Vegetables

Carrot

Nine little carrots, grown right where you sow them.

SeedsCool spring or fall weather
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Red ripe and pale unripe strawberries hanging beneath green leaves.Fruit

Strawberry

A sunny pot and a few ripe berries to pick yourself.

Nursery plantOutdoor seasonal crop
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Orange and yellow calendula flowers above green leaves in a garden bed.Flowers

Calendula

One compact plant, with cheerful flowers to keep picking.

Nursery plantMild-weather flowers
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A mass of small white sweet-alyssum flowers with yellow-green centers.Flowers

Sweet alyssum

A small pot of tiny, honey-scented flowers.

Nursery plantMild-weather flowers
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A potted peace lily with glossy, pointed green leaves on a white stand.Houseplants

Peace lily

Glossy leaves for a bright corner, with a gentle care routine.

Small plantIndoor plant
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Clusters of fleshy oval green jade-plant leaves on branching stems.Houseplants

Jade plant

A little tree-shaped succulent for your sunniest window.

Small plantIndoor succulent
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A red original Knock Out rose opening its layered petals against a soft garden-center background.Flowers

Shrub rose

A flowering shrub to build a garden around.

Nursery shrubSpring through frost
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Purple English-lavender flowers on slender upright stems against a soft green background.Flowers

English lavender

Purple flowers, sunshine, and a lighter watering hand.

Nursery plantEarly to midsummer flowers
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A conical cluster of creamy white Little Lime hydrangea flowers among fresh green leaves.Flowers

Panicle hydrangea

Big summer flower heads on one compact shrub.

Nursery shrubSummer into fall
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An open Krinkled White peony with a single cup of crinkled white petals surrounding bright yellow stamens.Flowers

Peony

White spring flowers worth leaving a place for.

Bare-root divisionLate spring to early summer
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A large open dahlia with layered peach, blush-pink and soft yellow petals in a sunny garden.Flowers

Dahlia

A generous pot of summer color.

Nursery plantSummer through fall
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Pink sweet-pea flowers climbing through a cottage-garden border beside an old stone wall.Flowers

Sweet pea

Fragrant flowers climbing beside your door.

SeedsCool-season flowers
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A spike of pale pink foxglove bells with deep burgundy spots inside the open flowers.Flowers

Foxglove

Tall flower bells for a little garden drama.

Nursery plantsUsually flowers in year two
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An open pink hollyhock flower with a deep rose center and pale yellow stamens.Flowers

Hollyhock

Old-fashioned flowers reaching above the fence.

SeedsAllow until the second summer
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A lavender-blue Arabella clematis flower with six gently recurved tepals and pale spreading stamens.Flowers

Clematis

Blue-purple flowers with one simple spring cut.

Nursery plantSummer to early fall
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Coral-pink zonal geranium flowers held in rounded clusters above scalloped green leaves.Flowers

Geranium

Classic patio flowers in one easy pot.

Nursery plantWarm-season flowers
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A pink wax-begonia flower with yellow stamens above glossy bronze-green leaves.Flowers

Begonia

Small flowers for a sheltered, partly shaded corner.

Nursery plantFlowers until cold weather
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Pink and red tulip flowers rising above broad, blue-green leaves in a garden bed.Flowers

Tulip

Plant nine bulbs now for a small patch of spring.

BulbsFall bulbs → spring flowers
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White snapdragon flowers with small yellow throats clustered along green stems.Flowers

Snapdragon

Little flower spikes for the cooler part of the year.

Nursery plantBest in cool spring or fall
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Violet-pink impatiens flowers with small white centers among oval green leaves.Flowers

Impatiens

A bright little flower pot for the shade.

Nursery plantWarm, frost-free weather
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Harvested white and purple-streaked garlic bulbs with dried roots and papery skins.Vegetables

Garlic

Four cloves now. A small garlic harvest next summer.

Planting clovesFall to summer outdoors
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Two bunches of yellow bulb onions hang to dry with their green tops attached.Vegetables

Onion

Six little starts. A pot of onions for your kitchen.

Young onion transplantsCool start, sunny growing season
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Freshly dug sweet potatoes with reddish-tan skins lie on grass beside their vine.Vegetables

Sweet potato

One leafy slip. A big pot. A harvest to dig for.

A sweet potato slipWarm and frost-free
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Pendant pink Christmas-cactus flowers hang from flattened green stems with rounded, scalloped edges.Houseplants

Christmas cactus

One small plant, with flowers to look forward to each winter.

Nursery plantIndoor flowering plant
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A potted Monstera deliciosa with glossy green leaves split into deep lobes and natural holes.Houseplants

Monstera

Big green leaves, with a simple check-before-watering routine.

Nursery plantIndoor climbing plant
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A cluster of ripe blue and unripe green blueberries beside a fresh green leaf.Fruit

Blueberry

One compact bush, with summer berries and colorful leaves.

Nursery shrubOutdoor fruit shrub
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ONE GOOD PLACE TO START

Not sure what to grow?

A herb for dinner, flowers by the door, or green on a shelf. Start with the space you already have.

Something I can eat →A little more color →Something for indoors →