I grew sweet potatoes a few years ago (when we lived in a rural area rather than in town)--the plants get really big if you put them in the ground! They're quite pretty as well.
I do live in a city now, but it's a small city where most of us have yards, and my family has a pretty substantial front and back yards that my husband and I are reclaiming from the grass. We're about to start our 3rd full summer here, and we've been gradually adding veggie, herb, and mixed veggie-flower-herb bed each year. We're up to 6 small veggie beds and 1 big one in the back yard, and have 2 herb beds, 1 veggie bed, and about 5 medium-small flower-herb beds in the front. The goal is to have everything either a garden bed or a mulched path, except for a grassy area where the kids' climbing dome is. I've been super-excited this year to get my plant starts and seeds in on time . . . I actually have enough corn coming up this year that I might not have to pollinate it by hand! That will be a first. We've been pulling chard, leeks, and radishes from the garden for about a month now; that has made it a lot easier to keep eating fresh veggies without having to go to the store too often.
And this is why my husband makes fun of me for playing Stardew . . . at least he giggles less when I play
after spending an hour or so weeding my actual garden!
