by Christina Salwitz
Let’s see if I’ve got this about right; you’ve been stuck in your house, maybe working from home and your spouse, children and animals are with you 24/7 since March. The garden has been your secret to avoiding ending up on the news as having committed some sort of a crime, right? I thought so. Houseplants and all manner of indoor growing is the answer.
Now the kids are back to some form of school and indoor activities will take center stage again. But, how will you get your nature fix now? I have you covered! Houseplants and all manner of indoor growing is the answer. Whether you prefer the tropical allure of colorful, flowering plants and big bold leafy foliage that confirms your zeal for lands far away, or to the tasteful and cheerful grow lights where fresh basil on your kitchen counter thrive, indoor gardening is booming and you’re in a great time to experience the bounty.
...more up to date technology for growing and a wider array of plant options in a variety of scales to accommodate both a ranch and an urban apartment.
Independent garden centers are working harder and smarter than ever before to bring you fresh takes on old ideas, more up to date technology for growing and a wider array of plant options in a variety of scales to accommodate both a ranch and an urban apartment. Check them out and support them during these strange times if you can do so safely. During lockdown, I had a lot of fun with garden deliveries from my local nursery. I even volunteered for a “surprise box” of plant goodies. That was SO FUN!!
Social media sites such as Pinterest and Instagram (Or what I call “Pinstagram”) make searching for and learning to create new ways of utilizing indoor plants, even “Plant Parenting” a massively popular pastime. This resurgence among all age groups and social demographics has not been seen since the 1970’s. In fact, it’s such a huge deal that the Wall Street Journal interviewed lil ‘ol me about it this summer!
In addition to the social media attention that indoor growing is getting, what used to be simple, local “Garden Club Garden Tours” has now morphed into a whole trend towards “Garden Tourism”, where HortHeads of all kinds arrange travel to accommodate a passion or hobby like indoor gardening. Thanks to websites like Zoom, you can even join in on virtual tours in some of the world’s leading gardens and greenhouses to get your fix.
I’ve visited some of the most extravagant botanical greenhouses in the US and UK and I will vouch for the idea wholeheartedly, that if you visit your Independent Garden Center over the coming fall, a greenhouse is like a mini-Maui break. If you can manage to go by yourself, simply taking in the sweet, moist air that smells like peat, the colors and textures that make you want to touch everything, then you can relax and just dream.
...visit your Independent Garden Center over the coming fall
Dream about how you might decorate an end table with a combo of classy poinsettia and raucous croton for the season. Or fantasize about a rich rainbow of bromeliads and chartreuse dracaena might invite an energetic tango in the living room just because you can! You might even dream about that tall, dark and handsome palm that you’ve always had your eye on and never had the guts to try.
"You’re home with the same faces in close proximity for the next 6 months, let’s do this.”
This is it baby, this is your time to go for it, Covid 19 and your new 7ft tall Rhapis excelsa says “You’re home with the same faces in close proximity for the next 6 months, let’s do this.”
Now, maybe you’re more into the eating than the dancing part of this little vision I’ve worked up for us and that’s quite cool too. I’m not gonna lie, the low-carb thin person inside me dreams in pizza dough and pasta, so some fresh countertop grown basil in December is sounding pretty darn good right about now. Will you venture out to get yourself a high-quality grow light or bulb for that kitchen grown basil? I sure hope so! I spied a cool new section of grow light options at my nursery just the other day and I do believe I’ve resisted long enough. I look longingly at the ones growing in my neighbor’s kitchen window in the evening with the white glow of the gro-light across the street with a Vodka Sauce grin.
Let it take you to places you’ve only dreamed of...
Get out there, get yourself some ridiculously fun new houseplants and new pots too. Grow some herbs and greens under a light for fall and winter. Enjoy your indoor space, be it bathroom, kitchen or sunroom. Let it take you to places you’ve only dreamed of with Mediterranean herbs that evoke Greece or supple baby greens that make you think about a four-star restaurant experience on your honeymoon. We might be in strange times, but growing endures.