Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Great Indoor Gardening Ideas To Soothe The Winter Blues

By Laura Hall


For people who love to garden, the winter months can be challenging and somewhat depressing. A good alternative to waiting until spring to plant may be to bring your garden inside. You don't have to be a professional gardener to have beautiful plants throughout the year. There are simple indoor gardening ideas for seasoned planters and those who are new to the hobby.

Cooking with herbs is great way to add fresh, healthy ingredients to recipes, but especially during the winter, buying them at the supermarket can be cost prohibitive. A good alternative is to grow the herbs yourself by adding an herb wall to your kitchen or indoor porch. Big box stores offer simple, easy to hang shelves you can easily attach to a sunny wall.

If you have an old dresser stowed away in an attic or cellar, taking one of the drawers to repurpose into a planter is another way to bring living green into your home. You might decide to repaint or stain the exterior first and add some interesting hardware. You will need to bore holes in the bottom to allow excess water to drain. Add soil and plants, or place potted plants into the drawers, and set it down on a stand in an area with plenty of sun.

For those with limited space, hanging plants are a good idea. If you are already familiar with kokedamas, you know that these Japanese bonsais don't take up much room. The small plantings take root in moss and soil balls wrapped in complex string webs. Making your own might take some practice, but you will be glad you took the time when you see them hanging neatly in front of your kitchen window.

If a wall or drawer full of plants seems too intimidating, you could try making a terrarium out of an old glass teapot. Buy extra small plants that have shallow root systems and plant them in your teapot with potting soil and rocks. Colorful plants add interest to your terrarium.

If you are a wine drinker, you have probably thought you should do something creative with the empty bottles. It is not hard to turn them into interesting plant holders with a little ingenuity. You will need a glass cutter to cut the bottles in two sections. After sanding the cut edges smooth, invert the top part into the bottom. This will become your basic planter.

Gardeners who are also handy with a hammer and saw can create a great hanging planter in the bathroom where the steam from the shower will turn it into a virtual rain forest. You will need a wood box, chicken wire, fiberglass screens, chain, and hangers in addition to the plants. Suspending it from the ceiling will give you the feeling you are in the middle of the jungle.

You don't have to wait until spring to plant your garden. You can have a great garden inside your house to tide you over until you can get back outside. Nothing compares to a beautiful outdoor flower or vegetable garden, but having a green space inside may be the next best thing.




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