Turning an Ugly Back Alley into a Garden... I Hope!

I grew up in the suburbs.  We had a nice yard with plenty of garden space, and as a kid I grew things like tomatoes, pole beans, and snapdragons.  I enjoyed making things grow, and it was pretty easy - all the things I needed (dirt, sun, rain) were right there.

But now I live in New York City, where gardening is trickier.  For starters, most of us don't have outdoor space.  And for those of us who do, it isn't always very gardenlike.

I am very lucky to have outdoor space behind my apartment.  Technically, I only own 10 x 10 square feet of it, but there's a lot more space than that and no one else can access it easily, so I consider it all mine.

When I show my backyard to friends from out of town, though, they seem unimpressed.  Maybe that's because it's . . . gray.  And hard.  And pretty dark.

So that's the view looking left from my back door, as of today.  I thought it might make a nice mini-golf course, but I suspect the neighbors would complain.

The view looking right is marginally more attractive because I've added some outdoor furniture.

It makes a nice extra room in summer, for reading or eating a meal under the stars.  Somewhat lacking in greenery, though, isn't it?  My dream when I moved in was to grow fruits and vegetables and herbs in pots and containers, so that I could cook with my own produce.  But I only get an hour or two of sun per day, and the herbs I tried to grow from seed got to an inch or two high and just... stopped.  So farewell, fruits and veggies.  I am now determined to grow only things that do well in the shade.  Hello, foliage.

Those of you with sharp eyes will have spotted the two varieties of plants I'm growing already.  There's a Japanese Maple that I purchased last year and planted in a self-watering container purchased from Gardener's Supply Company.

OK, perhaps it looks kind of pathetic now.  But it's an Orange Dream Japanese Maple, and will someday have beautiful foliage.  This past weekend, I refreshed its soil, fertilized it with a bit of Osmocote, and mulched it with last fall's leaves and twigs.  (At the top of that big ugly concrete wall is an apartment building with a landscaped back garden, and its trees drop leaves right into my yard in the fall.)

The Japanese Maple is beginning to bud, so I'm hoping to achieve some attractive color even if it is little more than a twig right now.  I also expect to surround it with something prettier than dead leaves.  Hostas, maybe?

My second planting is some pink polka dot plants that were on sale at Home Depot for $1.50 each this past weekend.

They're sitting in their own pot on the table right now, but I think they will eventually end up in one of the bigger pots with a tree or bush at the center.

Five shrubs will arrive in April, chosen primarily for shade tolerance.  I will keep you posted as I try to turn my gray garden green.  And pink.  And orange.

Please respond in the comments with any advice or questions.  And welcome to my gardening project!