Photo: Jackie Reeve

Senior staff writer Jackie Reeve’s home office is in her basement. Which is nicer than it sounds, but it’s still, well, a basement office. Its saving grace? Just outside its doors is a lush container garden.

The small patio is overflowing with flora and fauna, full of colors and smells that relax Jackie’s mind when her writing is stuck. Bright, big flowers to draw in pollinators, a romping assortment of herbs to graze for office lunches, and flowering roses and peonies all spill out from modern steel tubs of varying sizes. But it didn’t always look this way. The star player of the entire transformation? The steel tubs.

Not only are they good-looking, with a charming, modern-country vibe, these tubs are also sturdy and cheap. Plus, their handled sides make moving even your trickiest plants around simple—which Jackie takes full advantage of when bad weather threatens her two prized Meyer lemon trees.

How to garden when you don’t have a backyard→

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Our new favorite gardening gloves The best gardening gloves can grab a fistful of brambles, cradle the smallest seedling, and survive harsh work in the elements→

We’ve got a new top-pick hose nozzle It can shower delicate flowers just as well as it can blast mud off a truck tire→

“How I transformed my 140-square-foot Queens balcony into a garden oasis” Learning to garden in a small, urban setting can mean a lot of trial and error. Here’s another container garden success story→

The best gifts for gardeners Including a puddle-proof tote and a nail brush for scrubbing the dirt away→

Illustration: Yann Bastard

Embarking on a summer trip? The good news is that your houseplants likely aren’t going to die without adult supervision. But even so, there are a few steps you should take to ensure they’re happy.

How to set up DIY irrigation for your plants→

Photo: Jackie Reeve

“I thought if these tubs could survive our chickens,” writes Jackie, “they could survive anything.”

The chicken’s name, you ask? Marshmallow.

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