Strawberries in a 4" pot will start producing fruit in just a few weeks, so you can have fresh berries on your patio or in a raised bed by late spring. Each plant yields steadily through the season in Alabama heat, and you can keep it going year to year if you let runners root or dig it up before the hardest cold.

Six hours of sun and consistent moisture are all it takes. Plant one or go bold with several — they're small enough to tuck into corners or let spill over a raised edge, and the return on space is hard to beat.