I had successful container gardens for years. I lived in an apartment. if you are going to grow vegetables, get very, very large containers. I recommend you buy cheap potting soil and use the following mixture.
60% potting soil
20% peat moss
20% cow manure.
Mix it up. You can plant all kinds of peppers, tomatoes (use varieties made for containers for best results), miniature roses, Gerber daisies really do well and create a lot of showy color in containers.
To add some pleasant greenery, try some shrubs. yes, Garden shrubs. They can give a patio or indoor area a great feeling of being outdoors. They can create a very pleasant atmosphere.
A fun and cheap thing to try are blackeyed peas. Buy some peas at a grocery store, plant, water and place somewhere that you can tie the vines to a fence or wall. They can be pretty. Fresh peas are so much better than dried ones that you won't believe they are blackeyed peas.
I had success with tomatoes, peppers, roses, pansies, chrysantheums, daisies, salvia, blackeyed peas., strawberries Bananna peppers really do well. Ornamental peppers en mass are beautiful. They don't require very big containers.
You can use children's kiddie pools to plant bedding plants. I have done that successfully.
