Bring Nature into Your Home

If you have always wanted a garden of your own but never had the yard space, indoor gardens may be something you want to consider. Plants improve the air quality of a room - they not only give out oxygen and remove carbon dioxide, they also absorb pollutants, giving you the right mix for bringing a bit of Nature home.

1. Pick a Plant

Most plants can grow indoors if they do not get too large.

“Popular indoor plants include Bamboo Palm, Yellow Cane Palm, Money Plant, Sweetheart Vine and Dwarf Umbrella Plant. But remember, even indoor plants need four to six hours of filtered sunlight,” says Tammy Chia from landscape specialist, Earthscape Concepts Pte Ltd.

If you want a vegetable garden, know that they do best with 14 to 16 hours of light. The plant will tell you whether it is getting enough or not. Plants with insufficient light have small leaves, thin stems and lighter colours than usual.

You can even recreate a lawn indoors with artificial turf. These synthetic fibres look just like grass minus the hassle and the stains.

2. Pick a Place

One of the most important things plants need is light. South-facing rooms are sunnier. East- and west-facing ones get sunlight for parts of a day. Once you know how much light each space gets, you can decide where and what kinds of plants you want.

Then comes the creative part – designing your indoor garden. Here are some options to pique your imagination.

Grow up with a Green Wall Every room has walls so why not turn them into gardens? Green walls are all the rage these days and they are one of the best ways to have some greenery in your house when you do not have much space.

“Locate vertical gardens where there’s ample natural light filtering in. If this is not possible, then you need to install artificial grow lights,” says Chia.

Stairway to Nature The space beneath the stairs is often a white elephant. Use it to create your indoor garden.

Hydroponics in the Bathroom Plants love moisture and mist, and bathrooms are full of these. Conventionalists put potted plants in their bathroom. Creative thinkers take it a step further by using the toilet tank as a planter. The constant supply of water makes it a great place to experiment with hydroponics (growing plants in nutrient-rich water instead of in soil).

Think Terrarium People have long had aquariums at home. These same clear tanks can be used as terrariums. An entire mini garden can be recreated here.

“Pick small shade tolerant plants that prefer high humidity such as ferns. You will need three to four types of plants per terrarium and then decorate it with wood, moss, stones, or other natural objects to give context among the plants. Ensure there is enough space around the objects and plants to give a sense of scale,” advises Chia.

3. Pick a Pot

Most indoor gardens are container gardens with plants in pots. Here is where you can let your creativity blossom.

Reuse and recycle Old items like bicycles or a chest of drawers can be turned into planters for your indoor garden. Even old footwear can be given a new lease of life as a pot. Nail them to a wall to make a hanging garden with a difference.

Raid the Kitchen Used water bottles, jam jars and tin cans aside, the kitchen is full of items that can be turned into pots like colanders, mugs and even kettles.

Just make sure that your container is always a little bigger than what your plant might need so that it has plenty of space to grow and develop a more stable root system that will allow it to last longer between watering.

“Indoor plants usually only need watering not more than two to three times a week if you wet the entire root ball. If the pot is small, water them in the sink or place them in shallow dish filled with water until it is all absorbed. For bigger pots, place shallow dishes or outer pots with no drainage holes under the potted plants and sprinkle anti mosquito granules into dishes or outer pots,” says Chia.

Creating a green oasis inside your house can be a wonderful exercise. So why not let your inner gardener loose and allow your ideas to grow as you work on bringing a bit of Nature home?

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