Before you even start thinking about pots or plant seletion for your container garden, you need to decide if you want to have your plants inside or outside your home. It's a common misonception that container gardening is only for indoors or patios, but containers can be very versatile in any garden situation.

Containers are suitable for growing practically any kind of plant, because they offer such great versatility.

If you grow your garden in containers and you need to relocate it later, it’s pretty pain free to do but not so much if you have a traditional garden!

For example, if a storm comes out of nowhere, you can temporarily move the containers to a safer place, like inside or in the garage. With a traditional garden you're at the mercy of mother nature.

Again, if you see your plants aren’t that healthy because the location you picked gets too much sun or shade, there isn’t much you can do with a typical garden, but you can easily move container plants to a better place.

If you want to have your container garden outside, you need to make sure to select a good spot for it. You’ll want to pick a location that has the proper amount of sunlight for the particular plants you intend to grow, but it also needs to be a location that provides accessibilty. It’s easy to lose interest in caring for your garden especially if it’s several hundred feet from your home!

Another things to keep in mind is to place your plants as far away from vehicle traffic as possible. Pollution from vehicles, in addition to the dust they can stir up, can harm your plants and even contaminate them. If you plan on growing your own produce, you definetely don’t want to be eating all that pollution, so place plants as far away from the street as you can.

If you have your plants inside, you won't have to worry about street pollution but you’ll still need to pick an appropriate location. Most plants need to be kept within a certain temperature range, so you’ll need to select the warmest spot in your home especially if you have air conditioning.

Most plants won’t thrive in very cold houses, so you may need to pick a room while keeping that in mind. If possible, select a place with a lot of natural sunlight.

Plants do better with natural sunlight. If you don’t have a place with a lot of sun, you can use special plant lights, just don't use fluorescent lighting, because your plants won’t do well.

These special lights are designed specifically for growing plants. They emit a broad spectrum of light, which is more similar to natural sunlight than standard bulbs. Indoor gardens might also require that you adjust the humidity in the room.

Some plants grow better in higher humidity environments, and others do better in low humidity. If you want to grow very picky or delicate plants, you might need to purchase special equipment in order to adjust the humidity. Chances are you won’t have this issue unless you’re growing exotic plants.

Next, you’ll need to pick which plants you want for your container garden. Word of caution! Many beginners decide to grow way too many kinds of plants, and they end up frustrated with less than perfect results.

A good rule of thumb is to grow fruits and veggies that you really enjoy and have a difficult time finding in your local area, or those you find are too expensive or lower quality. Tomatoes are a popular choice for home gardeners, because the quality at the grocery stores is usually very low.

As a final consideration, chose whether or not you want an organic container garden. If you’re growing inside, it will be easier to do, but if you’re garden is outdoors, you might have to deal with various pests which can be frustrating. Don’t give up too fast if you find organic gardening too difficult, there are options for dealing with these pests that are safe for you and the environment and the satisfaction you'll get from growing your own organic plants will be a great reward for your effort.