Gardening is a fun, stress-relieving hobby that lets you see the fruits of your labor – literally. But if you don't have a large, sprawling yard in which to sow those seeds, it can be a little tough to get up any enthusiasm for the activity when you don't see any way that you can accomplish it. Gardening in small spaces is not only doable, however, but can give just as good results as free-range gardening. So if you're looking for a few tips and tricks for gardening successfully in a small space, then here's what you need to know.

Know Your Light

One of the most important things to raising successful, fruitful plants is to make sure that they get plenty of light. Putting your plants near a window or right where the noon sun shines seems like a good idea, but in reality that only ensures that your plants will get light as long as the sun stays in place all day – which you know that it doesn't.

Instead, scope out your patio (if you're raising your plants outside) or your home (if you're raising them inside) to see where the light falls all during the day, and be prepared to shift your plants' containers around the house or yard one or two times a day to ensure they receive the proper amount of sunlight.

Don't Stress Your Plants

Being careful and consistent is one thing, but constantly mother-henning your plants to ensure that your small crop will come successfully in the world (pruning stray leaves every day, moving your plants in and out and in the house again and again, just to name a couple of examples) is one of the best ways to stress out your plants and to leave you with fruitless, withered stalks and dead herbs. Instead, set a timer for when you need to water, move, or prune your plants – not only will this keep you on track, but it'll prevent you from constantly worrying about doing enough to produce a crop.

Consider Your Size

The size of the plants that you're trying to raise makes a big difference in where you should keep them. For example, small pots with fresh herbs can be easily kept in-house on a sunny windowsill (or windowsills), while larger plants like tomatoes will do their best when placed on your patio outside, where they have room to grow vertically (helped along by a metal frame they can cling to) and thus produce more fruit than they would normally. Knowing how large your plant is going to get and adjusting their growing spot accordingly is a good way to stay on top of your small space gardening endeavor.

For more information, check out a plant nursery like Kauai Nursery & Landscaping Inc.