Grow a Cheery Indoor Garden
It’s January, we’ve just passed Blue Monday, and we could all use some cheering up as winter drags on. If you’re longing for some early spring cheer in your new Savage MN homes, consider starting a cheery indoor garden. Those shoots of green and signs of life are bound to make you feel better. If you like to start from scratch, that’s always an option, but for more instant gratification, purchase some plants that are already growing and fairly developed.
Adding even a few small potted plants to a room really brings it to life and adds a certain charm and vitality. Big or small, they’re life-affirming and just plain pretty! They can also help purify the air, which is particularly nice during the winter months when the windows are all closed up for the season.
If you have a big sunny window with a table or sideboard beneath it, that’s a great place to really create a mini garden full of various types of plants, from small succulents to larger frothy ponytail palms. Don’t forget the larger potted plants, too, such as yucca or ficus, for a bolder look near a big window. They can be a perfect finishing accent to the side of a sofa. Also, grouping plants together, even just a smaller grouping on a side table, can be good for the plants as it increases the humidity in that spot, enabling them to retain more water.
Don’t fret, you can still have greenery on its own and in areas without full sunlight. There are plenty of plants that do well with partial sunlight, though if you’ve got a dark corner that doesn’t really get light, give in and buy some pretty silk flowers instead. However, for areas with some light, the monstera is a classic that is easy to care for with minimal watering and average light. Another plant that does well avoiding bright light is the calathea, with its beautiful purple undersides and multiple shades of green on top, creating a truly beautiful plant that holds its own against a bouquet.
Make the most of being indoors to use some unusual or particularly stylish planters. While you may want to keep the plant itself in a plastic or terracotta container, you can always put that inside a decorative bowl or vase large enough to hold it. Get creative with your containers. Just remember that you may need something underneath to capture any water that may leak from the main plant container.
When creating your own indoor garden, whether it’s just a few plants here and there or a much larger display, be sure to have an area where you can do some potting, feeding, and maintenance. A mudroom or laundry room with a sink and some shelving is ideal, but you can always use the kitchen in a pinch. Ideally, keep your tools, such as clean pots, bases, clippers, and trowels together in a sealed plastic storage box, and another sealed storage option for potting soil. Ideally, you want a space where you can get a little dirty, as some of the potting soil is sure to spill. This is why a large sink comes in handy, but you may also want to put down some plastic sheeting on any counters, especially in the kitchen or laundry room to help contain the mess.
Finally, if nothing else, buy an aloe plant and keep it on a kitchen or bathroom windowsill or somewhere sunny. Not only is it an easy maintenance plant, but it’s great for burns. Just cut off a piece, slice it open and put the interior gel right on the burn. A plant that adds some green charm and takes care of you is definitely worth having in your Savage MN homes.
