Indoor Gardening: Don't Let Your Lack of Lawn Stop You!

Keeping a small herb garden, potted plants, window baskets, hanging indoor plants, and doing crazy things to make your condo/apartment more green!

More often than not, our environments keep us from being able to tend an outdoor garden, usually because we live in condos or apartments. However, many women are still able to maintain their green thumb indoors. Even those of us who very, very much wish we had a green thumb can still easily keep plants, vegetables, flowers and herbs indoors. The benefits to growing plants indoors are obvious; they keep a fresh supply of clean air for us, breathing in our own Co2 emissions. And, there are many varieties available to be grown indoors as well; whether you have the time on your hands for a full fledged indoor garden, or want the greenery without having to work too hard, or pay too close attention to a plant's health.

If you have a busy schedule, and aren't home a whole lot, you can still keep plants. That doesn't mean you can just go off and buy an expensive orchid and expect it to take of itself, however. Know your situation, be honest with yourself about how much time you'll have to care and water your plants. What most indoor plants thrive on is consistency. So pick a time when you're fairly certain you'll be home, and schedule a day and time to water your plants and feed them when you know you'll be there. There are many plants still that you can get that are great survivors; just be sure that you don't completely neglect them. Pothos, for example is a viney plant that just needs a little room, a large to medium size pot, and watering once a month. Another excellent indoor survivor is the spider plant. It likes medium levels of light, filters air well, and is pretty cheap to buy in most stores. A Snake Plant is also another great indoor plant for someone with a busy schedule; it suffers from over-watering more than anything, so feel free to wait a while in between watering. The Snake Plant also does fine in levels of low light. A Bromeliad is also easily cared for, and the blooms are beautiful, brightening any room of the house, or office.

Plants that require more than once a month watering are excellent if you're not too busy to do a little watering and caretaking once in a while. Dragon Trees are tolerant of drought conditions, and various levels of light, but you'll still want to water enough to keep it healthy. Sword ferns are excellent indoor specimens as well, and stand out vividly in your room, or office's decor; they can tolerate relative dryness, and various levels of light as well. Jade Plants are usually grown in Asian restaurants, and can get to be enormous when taken care of properly. They prefer brighter light, and need consistent watering; consequences of allowing the plant to decline is a susceptibility to mealybugs, however easily they're dealt with.

Bonsai trees; usually require high levels of tender loving care, and a devoting to their health and growth. Many people are beginning to follow the growing trend of caring for bonsai trees, and clubs form for like-minded individuals as well. Orchids are another more advanced indoor gardening hobby. They require high levels of humidity, have diverse needs for sunlight and feeding, and require attentive owners, devoted to maintaining and taking care of them. Many different species of orchids are rare, but all of them are delicate.

Indoor vegetable growing is often overlooked as an excellent, not to mention rewarding hobby as well. There's no sun shining on your head, weeds to pull, rabbits to chew, or many pests to worry about. One of the main things to remember when planning container gardening for vegetables, is how big the plant is going to get! Very important. Have large pots or containers available, but start small. Cherry tomatoes are excellent indoor vegetables; you can grow them on a countertop in the kitchen, and they make a very attractive addition to indoor decor. Starting out small is sometimes easier though, so if you're not comfortable with growing vegetables indoor right away, try a small herb garden first. You can get a rectangular ceramic planter, for indoors or for a window box, and grow herbs there instead. Basil, and cilantro are very hearty; mint can sometimes take a while to get going, but once it does, will be all over the place. Growing herbs indoors not only makes for colourful living additions to the interior, but also creates a more pleasant smell in your home, as well as providing you with fresh air.