No garden to plant? No soil to sow? No problems at all. Don’t let your green thumb be limited by your small apartment or unit — instead, consider it an opportunity to create a luscious DIY indoor garden of your very own. There’s plenty of ways to bring greenery indoors, and plenty of reasons to do it. From air purification to mood-boosting effects and immunity support, bringing plants in amongst your décor is one of the best decisions you can make for your everyday health and wellbeing.
Benefits of Indoor Plants
While it’s fairly common knowledge that having plants inside is good for you, it’s important to understand why to really understand and appreciate all our leafy friends can do for us. Plants remove toxic compounds from the air, including ozone and carbon dioxide. During their photosynthetic processes, they turn the carbon dioxide we breathe out into oxygen and in doing so, improve the overall air quality in your home. Plants also help to diversify the types of bacteria we are exposed to, which is entirely a good thing. This diverse range of bacteria, called our microbiota, helps us fight inflammation and infection.
So not only do plants contribute positively to our health and wellbeing, but they can also add to the overall theme of any décor. For example, if you’re channelling a Mexican desert vibe through the use of warm, earthy tones, incorporating native plants such as cacti and other hardy succulents can really bring a room together, resulting in an enhanced living experience for visitors and for yourself.
In Japanese and Chinese traditional medicine, “nature therapy” has been used for health and wellbeing for generations. On top of all this, it’s undeniable that plants just make your home look great, meaning you’ll be happier and more content in a homelier environment.
Using plant stands is a great way to display your green gems in a way that’s visually pleasing and keeps your plants happy. Clustering them together in a corner is a great way to showcase their beauty, and create Zen corners in your home too.
Which Plant Where
It’s no secret that there’s a lot of different plant species, and it can be daunting to navigate a nursery not knowing which plants will look great together. There’s no need to be overwhelmed. There’s a few simple tricks and tips to ensure your leafy friends love their new home just as much as you love them.
Plants with variegated leaves make such a statement and really add an interesting touch to your home. The differentiation in colour within the leaves draws your eye and helps to make a statement.
Create a little corner oasis across multiple levels of a small bookshelf or plant stand. They’ll grow wonderfully right underneath a windowsill. If you’ve got a fair amount of light, dieffenbachia, happy plants and alocasia’s (like this beautifully variegated dark green species just below) grow wonderfully.
If your space has less light, peace lilies, ferns and Zanzibar gems are great go-to’s as they can survive with very little sunlight. Where a peace lily will let you know exactly when they need watering thanks to their droopy leaves, a Zanzibar gem will thrive on neglect and needs barely any water at all, making them the perfect houseplant for busy professionals and those who love to travel.
When planting in pots with small (or no) drainage holes, make sure to use some small rocks beneath the soil in your new pot. This way, your new plants will have plenty of drainage and be able to flourish and grow beautifully.
Indoor Herb Garden
Run out of rosemary no longer! A miniature herb garden grown in pots is the perfect addition to your apartment windowsill. With plenty of light, you can successfully grow a whole range of herbs in small pots. Just make sure to re-pot them when they get bigger to give the root system plenty of room to expand. We’ve put together a creating an indoor herb garden filled with tips and tricks on herb planters, tins and growing your own herbs.
Herbs like basil, mint, rosemary and chilli grow wonderfully in pots. You can also grow small lettuce and kale in your windowsill planter too. Making customised labels for your herbs and growing them from seedlings is a great activity to get the kids on board with too. Whether it’s herb tins or larger herb planters that are the length of your entire windowsill, growing your own herbs is wonderfully rewarding.
Décor Dreaming
Incorporating plants amongst your existing décor is a great way to reap the benefits of indoor plants when you don’t have much space available. You can incorporate them into a bookshelf or next to the sink, even in an old mug or in a teapot planter if you’re feeling creative. You can also create your own DIY Confetti Vase to really make your plants stand out and add to the overall aesthetic of your room.
Geometric terrariums are a real eye-catching feature, and a great way to show off the newest green additions to your family. There’s a lot of small species that grow great in terrariums. While you can definitely mix species together in a single terrarium, it’s best for beginners to opt for just one per terrarium. This is because different plants have different water requirement, so mixing two together might mean the health of one of the plants isn’t quite optimum. Indoor succulents are great as they don’t need a lot of water to thrive and grow well.
To keep your terrarium plants healthy, be sure to fill the bottom with rocks for drainage, and top them off with either fine mulch or a decorative pebble. This will mean the soil stays moist for longer, and the water isn’t absorbed by the sunlight before your plants can make the most of it.
No matter how you decide to use indoor plants within your home, they are guaranteed to become a great addition to any space. Enjoy making your home a little greener, healthier and more beautiful with plants.
Plants courtesy of Oxley Nursery.
For more everyday inspiration and exclusive offers, register now as a Stockland Member to receive monthly updates, latest news and exclusive events from your local Stockland Shopping Centre.
This information has been provided by our Stockland retailers. All reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information is correct at the time of the content going live. However, no warranty is given as to the accuracy of that information. The information may change from time to time without notice. Stocks are limited and only available while stocks last with individual retailers. Products may vary from location to location. Prices may also change without notice. Please contact our retailers for more information.
