How-To Overview

So, you're looking around your nicely furnished stomping ground; your favorite chair, your T.V., your Ikea furniture. Everything is just as you like it to be, but is something missing? Has it occurred to you that your apartment has about as much life as the surface of the moon? Here's a fun fact for you, human beings breathe oxygen, you remember oxygen, its that stuff that seeps in through your windows on the rare occasions when you forget to close them. Dear reader, don't despair, with the help of this guide and a little tender attention, you too can have oxygen, and not only will you get that life giving gas in abundance, but a great looking flat teaming with life and color.

Nothing finishes a space like the stylish placement of a few well cared for plants. A simple room, even with the sparsest furnishings can be turned into a relaxing getaway, a swinging bachelor pad, even a place where your girlfriend would purposely spend some time.

I know what you're thinking; "I can barely keep myself alive, how am I supposed to remember to water this inanimate potted creature?" But believe me, once you've started gardening in your own space, it might just become a lifetime habit that brings hours of enjoyment and beauty.

Plants and You

Okay, you've decided to bring some plants into your apartment.. Now what? Well, first off, there are around 350,000 separate species of plants on this planet, but for the purposes of this article, we'll cover the basics. Indoor plants, unlike their wild outdoor cousins, aren't subject to your particular climate. You can just as easily grow a beavertail cactus in your living room as a pine tree. So let's look at some of the options at your disposal.

The humble succulent

AKA "fat plants" (not to be confused with "fat pants"; you're not going to want to slip into these puppies after a big night at the Olive Garden)

The succulent is the perfect choice for the guy on the go. Because of their natural desert habitats, they retain water within their tender little bodies. This means that on average, watering them more than once a month would actually be too much. Succulents include cacti, but that sure isn't where the buck stops. There are hundreds upon hundreds of species of succulents; the best known non-cactus variety being the aloe. Aloe plants are easy to grow, easy to care for, and really useful in a pinch. Forget your sun block? Gently tear a leaf from your aloe plant, and inside you'll find the purest and most effective burn treatment known to mom-kind.

Succulents are also ideal for terrarium gardening, covered a bit later in this article.

Broad-leafed houseplants

These are perhaps the most ubiquitous of the house plants. You can find them in almost every large grocery store for next to nothing. Among the ranks of the broad-leafed house plants is the Pathos;

The "Pathos" (Epipremnum aureum) or "silver vine," is a really hardy little broad-leafed ivy like plant that does well with low light and a lot of humidity. These things, given the proper time and care, can be trained to grow anywhere. I've even seen a single plant growing along the ceilings of three separate rooms. It gives one a real chill- 'French Riviera meets the old South' feeling when the vines of a pathos are trained around mirrors, hanging on pictures, or even through wall sconces.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the broad-leafed houseplants are synonymous with Sunday afternoons at your grandmother's house and plastic furniture covers, but I stand by them. These guys have been given a bad rap. With the proper placement, a broadleaf can actually add spice to a room without detracting from its hip-ness.

Palms

Palms and palm-like gymnosperms are wonderful additions to any space. Because of their graceful forms, they tend to accentuate a room rather than dominate it. Palms tend to be larger than most house plants, so caring for them as well as finding space for them within the decorating dynamics of a room can be a tad more difficult.

A great palm for a beginner is the "bamboo palm." This palm is quite tough, and requires a bit less attention than some other varieties. It grows at a fairly slow clip, so if you're interested in investing in one, buying a larger specimen from a nursery is advised.

Bulbs

While bulb sprouting plants can seem fairly daunting to the beginner, they're actually a fairly easy project for the novice apartment gardener. Bulb plants include hyacinths, tulips, crocuses, and narcissus to name a few. All bulb plants are seasonal bloomers; meaning that outdoors they only show up once a year, then go into hibernation. Indoors, bulbs can be 'forced' into blooming any time you feel like having a stylish addition to your apartment simply by letting them chill in your fridge for a week or two. Forcing a bulb is usually done without soil. Specially shaped bulb vases are employed to allow the bulb roots access to water without letting the bulb itself touch the waters surface. Now the only caveat I can offer in regards to soil-less bulb growing is this; because of the nutrient storage system inherent to bulbs, they can be grown for a whole season in nothing but tap water, but to reuse the same bulbs every year, you must use a diluted fertilizer mixed in with the bulb's water, otherwise the bulb will burn through it's stores while it blooms and be for all intents and purposes useless by the next season.

Exotics

Not every houseplant possibility has been done to death by suburban housewives. There are nearly endless options for the ambitious apartment gardener. So called "rare" plants can spice up any bland corner of your space. My personal favorites include-

African violets

These guys are amazing little plants. On average they prefer warmer temperatures and increased humidity; both of which can be achieved inside by the use of glass dome covers and spray bottles. These flowers add instant beauty and look amazing.

Carnivorous Plants

Yet another warm climate category; carnivorous plants include the well known Venus Fly Trap, as well as other varieties such as the Pitcher Plant, the Cobra Lily, and the Sun Dew. One of the most attractive features of most carnivorous plants is there ability to coexist in a single planting; in other words, you can have a variety of little green carnivores in one stunningly planted display. These merciless little fellows also do fantastically well in terrariums.

For those living in the northern California area, the place to go for carnivorous plants is a fantastic store in San Francisco called Paxton Gate. They carry a variety of carnivorous plants, succulents, terrariums, and tools of the gardening trade. (not to mention their extensive collection of taxidermied animals and mounted insects)

For further information about carnivorous plants and successful growing tips, 'the venus fly trap' website is the place to look.

Bonsai

Bonsai is an art to itself. Literally translated from the Japanese, 'bonsai' means "tray gardening". Bonsai historically originated in China during the Tang dynasty in the 8th century, only later to travel as a refined artistic discipline to Japan. Bonsai is essentially the purposeful miniaturization of trees to appear full sized. The art of bonsai is by no means an exclusive hobby followed by professionals; there are multiple resources across the country for the aspiring Bonsai grower. A great one I've come to love is the Bonsai Society of San Francisco. There are some wonderful classes one can take to learn the art. Caring for a Bonsai is said to be a type of meditation all to itself, I cant help but agree.

Grasses and Wildflowers

About as far from a typical house plant as one can get, grasses and wildflowers are hardy additions to any indoor gardener's repertoire. These orphans literally grow like weeds, mostly due to the fact that they are weeds. On first glance, they may not seem at all conducive to a guy's apartment, but given a proper container, any clump of weeds can become an artful display. The crux of gardening with unlikely plants is typically finding the right display. For instance, you could simply find a shallow wooden tray, fill the bottom with some river stones, pearlite, and a bit of potting soil, then throw in any mixture of wildflower/ wild grass seeds, and you have a centerpiece fit for your coffee table.

Orchids

The ultimate indoor plant; these absolutely beautiful flowering plants are the supermodels of the flower world. Not only are they lovely, they're readily available and reasonably easy to care for. Orchids come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Orchids typically thrive in moderate climates with large amounts of ambient moisture. This can be achieved by misting them regularly. It's impossible to describe how fulfilling it is to grow your own orchid, I recommend you try it and see for yourself. For more information you should visit the American Orchid Society.

Plant Care

A generalized care sheet for any and all plant types is nothing but a recipe for disaster. Individual plants have individual needs. Caring for your pitcher plant the way you'd care for an air fern simply wont work. But, for the sake of general knowledge, I've covered the basics of plant care. Specific research should be done for every new plant you attempt to care for.

Watering

As a rule of thumb, too much watering is a bad thing. There are precious few plant species that can tolerate having “wet feet”, or soggy roots, for very long. A good way to judge weather your little potted dependants need a shower is by sticking your finger through the top inch of soil, if the soil under that first inch is dry, then it's time break out the watering can. Now, you may think that water is water, but water is actually full of minerals like salt that can build up in your little green roommate's soil and eventually kill 'em. A good way to avoid mineral build up is adequate drainage, and using a "clean" container. Adequate drainage is easily achieved by poking holes into whatever container your plant is in, as well as providing a subsoil layer of rocks or gravel that allows the plant to extend its root system. A clean container is simply one made of a nonporous material like plastic, glass, or sealed terracotta. Your everyday terracotta container is full of tiny holes that are perfect for collecting salts over time, as well as providing a few nasty diseases a nice foot hold. An easy way to tell if your plant is being over watered is by simply looking at it, a leafy plant will start to turn yellow at the leaf edged, basically because it's root system is drowning. A wilting, droopy, or generally hung-over looking plant is a good sign of under watering. Succulents are a different story, a succulent will start to look deflated and feel squishy when it needs to be watered.

Plants that thrive in semi-humid environments can be kept happy on a humidity tray. Humidity trays are essentially just shallow containers of water with gratings that your planted containers rest on. As the water evaporates, you achieve instant humidity. These are ideal for African violets, lilies, and orchids.

Lighting

Light, like water, is a plant universal. They all need it to photosynthesize, and it always needs to be full spectrum, meaning either sunlight or a fluorescent light specifically made for plant growth. The only variable in lighting among separate species is how much. Plants like Cacti need full light throughout the day, while others like African violets are more suited to indirect or low light. Plants will usually come with some sort of stake or tag indicating how much light they need. Plant lighting doesn't have to be something out of a hydroponics lab, there are hundreds of ways to turn a light your plants need into a light that showcases them, as well as one that accentuates your apartment. Little known fact: quite a few plant species require at least a few hours of darkness a day to allow for food storage and nutrient processing.

Soils

Soil is yet another factor dependent on plant type. Most houseplants can thrive in store-bought potting mixes, many of which come with time release fertilizers. More exotic plant varieties like African violets require specific potting mixes that contain greater amounts of peat moss and perlite than the average mix. So called 'soilless' potting mixtures are also available for indoor gardening. These tend to be a good choice for plants susceptible to disease as they're usually sterile by nature.

Disease

Typically, a plant will be resistant to most diseases when it's already being taken care of properly and in good health. Most diseases fall into the "fungi" or "mite" categories. Both fungi and mite problems can arise in perfectly healthy plants and sadly usually ring the death nell for that generation of your apartment's flora. The best thing to do when you detect mites/fungi is to dispose of the plant in a plastic bag, seal it tight, and walk it down to the garbage. After a diseased plant has been disposed of, its container should be either disinfected properly or simply outright thrown away. The worst thing that can happen to your first thriving apartment garden is an outbreak- To prevent one; keep all of your plants well cared for and happy.

Feeding

Plants require occasional feeding. Indoor plants can be easily fed on any budget . Feeding container plants is as easy as NPK. NPK is the initialism representing the three key ingredients of every plant fertilizer; nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The typical fertilizer container will have three numbers, each corresponds to the amount of N, P, and K present in that particular fertilizer, and, you guessed it, different plants require different NPK ratios. As a general rule young plants are really susceptible to root burning from fertilizers, so they're best left unfed till maturity is reached. Brands like Miracle-Grow make all-purpose container plant fertilizers that generally work on the more common varieties of house plant.

Gardening Tools

Gardening tools for the apartment garden are basically the same for outdoor use. The basic tools you need to get going are a trowel and a sturdy pair of pruning snips. Easy, eh? You can buy elaborate sets of garden tools for potted plants, but those two things are all you really need for general plant care. When you branch out into terrarium growing or Bonsai, the tool sets become a bit more complicated.

The indoor gardener may also find a potting tray handy for all of the messy moments ahead. This helpful catch-all keeps the chaos contained and can be easily stored when not in use. A potting tray can be made from anything tray-like. I use a shallow hydroponics tray made from sturdy black plastic. But really, any shallow tray will do.

Decorating with Plants

Flower Arranging Doesn't Mean You're a Momma's Boy

So now that you know how to get started, what's next? Well, this is one of the best parts; you've got to decide what your apartment needs in order to reflect your personal style. Trying to make your apartment seem more like Sinatra's pad in 50's Palm Springs? Bamboo palms, a few miniature cacti, some potted aloe, and you're well on your way. Looking to give your living room a Japanese Zen feel? Succulents planted in small black clay pots with some white river rocks artfully placed around a room will do the trick, maybe even a single calla lily in a slender white ceramic dish. You see, that's the magic of a plant, it can invoke a style in a way a loosely thrown together bunch of furniture could never truly accomplish.

Creating Mood

Though you may not realize it, different types of plants have been hard wired into your psyche as representations of things they may not have much to do with. Western culture has told us that cacti are symbolic to the tune of misanthropy, red roses are synonymous with love, the venus fly trap is an indirect representation of ferocity, etc. What I'm getting at is that plants within a space will create mood weather you like it or not. For instance, a cactus on your night stand may have seemed like a decent idea at the time, but relaxing in a space dominated with something that constantly reminds you of losing an eye and/or suppurating wounds isn't conducive with the overall mood you were aiming for (I hope). Before you charge into decorating your various spaces, take into account what sort of atmosphere you're looking for in each one, and try to keep that ideal in mind while you're plant shopping. Color is another mood factor that you should consider. It may seem like a funny concept, but color coordinating your plants will help the overall flow of your apartment decor. Aim for flowering plants that not only compliment each other, but also their immediate surroundings. Areas of an otherwise disjointed room can be tied together with similarly planted containers.

Ikebana

Yet another contribution from the plant enthusiasts of Japan, Ikebana literally translates to "living flowers." Begun in Japan in the 15th century, Ikebana was first a style of flower arranging used in offering rituals in Buddhist temples. The style was later adopted with many other Zen practices by Japan's higher caste of Samurai and royalty as a method of meditation and honing concentration. Ikebana is strongly focused on the singular beauty of a plant or flower. With Ikebana, it's all about the expression of the natural attractiveness of plants as they grow. And while Ikebana is typically practiced with cut flowers, I've found that with certain substitutes, the same effect can be achieved with plantings. Paying special attention to the aesthetics of the plants as you arrange them in relationship to the vessel you use is the only real trick to it. A lot of help in this department can be found at the Ikebana International website.

Containers

With a few exceptions, your options are nearly limitless insofar as containers for your plantings. I've found that any reasonable non porous material is suitable, given that proper drainage can be maintained. Found objects can be employed for any number of planting types. Items like your Grandmother's old tea service on their own would be out of the question but can be made use of by employing a little black plastic lining and a layer of gravel, a hole or two should be put into the bottom, and you've got a planter ready for soil and plants. Getting away with an unusual container is easier with the help of a little sphagnum moss. Simply lay the moss on top of bare areas of soil around your plants and not only will the planting will look infinitely more finished, but water retention will also increase. After your plants have become established and begin to outgrow their original containers, new containers should not greatly exceed the size of the original, this protects against drainage problems in the way of over-watering. The last thing you want after all of this hard work is root rot! Repotting rule of thumb- When you begin to see the roots of your plant coming through the containers drainage holes, its time to re-pot!Root shock is the only major pitfall to re-potting. Plants don't like being ripped out of the ground anymore than you would like having your skin removed, so handling them gently in this process is key for happy flora.

Terrarium Growing

The ultimate container for controlled growing! Some plants just don't do well without constant temperature adjustment and humidity. Many tropical plants simply can't be grown in an apartment without the use of a terrarium. Before you start imagining a floor to ceiling tank filled with automatic misters, bromeliads and a mating pair of toucans, let me tell you a terrarium can be as simple as a glass bowl. Planting in a terrarium can be the perfect solution to your climate control problems. Within a terrarium the environmental conditions are naturally more stable, making it ideal for bog plants like the carnivorous pitcher plant. A terrarium is also an attractive possibility insofar as decoration. A large bowl terrarium can make the perfect dining table centerpiece. For the more ambitious and financially capable, terrariums can be as complicated as your imagination allows. A good company to get you started on the path of the terrarium geek is Black Jungle , their selection is second to none, and they deliver!

Holiday Gardening

Tis the season of seven foot animatronic Santa Clause lawn displays and giant plastic snow globes full of disco lit nativity scenes. With all of the gaudy holiday paraphernalia dripping from every available surface, you may think the classic beauty of the Yule Tide season is gone for good, but with a little help from a green thumb, you can have an elegant Christmas in your apartment without depleting your holiday funds. Perhaps the most ubiquitous of the holiday plants is the tree itself, but the next runner up is, of course, the Poinsettia. Every one and their grandmother has been subjected to these overused little sources of mispronunciation. But aside from the obvious choices, there are numerous plants suitable for holiday decorating. Any flowering plant falling into one of the classic Christmas color categories can suffice; given that the display reflects the beauty of the season, rather than the general public's love for motion activated ho ho ho-ers.

Some really great holiday colored plants include, white orchids, red tulips, green moss, red or white speckled ivy, paper whites, even blooming succulents.

All of these can be made into holiday masterpieces with a little inspiration.

When decorating for the holidays keep in mind that simpler is better. Planted containers for the holidays should be elegant and uncrowded. There's also an entirely untapped living wreath genre out there to explore. Christmas should be exciting, and most importantly, green.

Decorating Conclusion

My final advice on the subject of using plants in decorating is this: Innovate. Doing something unexpected is the best thing you can do. Unlikely plants in likely containers (or vise versa), plants nestled into unanticipated places, splashes of color hitting you as you enter a room; all of these things can turn your experiment into a success. Do the unexpected and you'll never lose. (Within reason anyway.. turning your bathtub into a lily pond is interesting to say the least, but after the first week your friends will stop coming by because of your overpowering.... presence.)

Choosing plants

When you're ready to buy your plants always go to a reputable source. That's not to say that grocery store plants aren't fine, but they tend to be low on quality and high on little teddy bear balloons that encourage the ill to get well soon. Most home centers across the country have decently decked out garden centers. Nurseries are the ideal sources for any and all plants you're looking to acquire. But no matter where you go, always pay special attention to the plants overall heath. Do they look sick to you? Too much yellow on the leaves? Turn the leaves over and check for parasites; little black or white spots, aphids. Once you've given your prospective plant a once over, don't be afraid to ask questions; that's what the staff is paid for. Only when you're absolutely satisfied should you shell out your hard earned wages.

Gardening On a Budget

Gardening in your apartment doesn't have to drain your resources. Worry not, you won't have to decide between a terrarium of carnivorous plants and the Nintendo Wii. You can start small in any of the gardening types we've gone over. And always remember; plants are living organisms, they change constantly, and what's more, you can change them. Just because you've scaled down your dreams of an indoor urban jungle doesn't mean you can't slowly scale it up as your funds become available. My recommendation is that everyone aspiring to apartment gardening start small; the smaller the start, the smaller the mistakes.

Another cost effective angle for indoor gardening can be pursued through various websites that carry ready to grow container plants. These fun little products can be the perfect solution for the monetarily challenged. They come with everything you need (sans water and sunlight). Oh, and they make wonderful gifts. And while we're on the subject of cheap gardening kits; for you mushroom lovers, there's a great company that sells grow at home mushroom kits. You just open the box and add water. Quite a few people on my gift list are getting these this year!

Hands On: Potting a Star Jasmine

In order to provide a comprehensive guide, I've included a hands on account of actually planting something indoors. I've been drooling over the idea of having a potted star jasmine in my living room for the better part of a year, and today I'm going to get one. Now I've had to take some particular things into account because of the scale of the star jasmine plant. I've seen it grown in a container before, and it can be one hefty little wooded vine. Because jasmine is a climber, I've set up a series of 4 staggered stainless steel hooks on the wall behind it to give it adequate support as it grows. I've chosen to place this planting centrally behind my leather couch; I think it will accent the room and reduce some negative wall space. Star jasmine is extremely odiferous, especially in a contained space, so thankfully I love the smell. Jasmine is a prolific plant when well cared for, and I'm planning on training it to the ceiling with the help of those hooks and some twist ties.

My options for containers are limited by the sheer size of my plant choice; larger plants have larger root systems, and require more depth. Because I've chosen an out of the way place for it, I've decided to keep it in a more convenient black plastic container, and just because you never know who'll look behind your couch when company's over, I'm going to place the basic black plastic pot inside of a more decorative planter.

Sadly, my living room gets only adequate sun at best, and because here in San Francisco the cloudy season has kicked off, I need to add some additional lighting sources. I've found a perfect lamp that I think will go with the rest of my apartment quite well, and with the help of a full spectrum grow bulb, I've solved my lighting problem without resorting to something ugly.

For a planting medium, I've decide to use a standard potting soil mix, but I've added a hearty dose of time release fertilizer pellets to ensure the continuing health of the plant. For the sake of drainage, I've added a two inch layer of gravel and perlite.

Most plants you purchase will come to you in basic black containers. It's best when you first receive them to repot immediately. This is mainly because plants that are grown in nurseries and flower farms rarely have the properly sized containers necessary for continued growth. After I laid down my gravel and perlite mixture, I filled another 25% of the container with my potting soil/fertilizer mix. Now all that's left is to gently remove the plant's root ball from the store container, drop it into the new one, and back fill around the subsequent gaps with more soil (making sure not to pack it too tightly or too loosely). After a good, thorough watering, my new jasmine is all set.

That's basically it; not the most complicated process in the world. For most beginners, gardening only seems daunting because they don't know the basic steps involved. Just like anything else, it can become second nature with repeated application.

Flowers are Designed for Sex!

Do you still need a reason to garden in your apartment?

Well, after your apartment looks a bit greener, you might just start to benefit from the fact that women respond to plants in a positive way. And not only that, but women are prone to seeing men who can take care of a plant as good boyfriend material; eg- If you can keep a plant alive, you can remember her birthday. And cmon, I dare you to tell me an orchid in the bedroom is anything but sexy. There, now get started!

How To Garden In Your Apartment