Have a Green Thumb With These Indoor Gardening Ideas

Indoor Gardening Ideas to Have a Green Thumb

I am a huge fan of gardening both inside and out.

There’s just something about plants and flowers that is tranquil and soothing.

Gardening wasn’t always my thing.

My passion for it started while attending law school and grew from there.

I was totally drawn to it.

It started with a few annuals outside our condo.

Then it progressed to a houseplant or two.

When we moved, I started gardening with more perennials and flowering shrubs.

Then added lots of spring blooming bulbs.

Grew some more houseplants.

Started propagating them.

And then BAM!

My home is covered in air purifying plants and cottage gardens.

You don’t have to be a crazy plant lady like me to enjoy plants and flowers.

Start with one or two plants and see where it takes you.

Check out the ideas below to get started!

Houseplants

One of the best ways to enjoy gardening indoors is to grow some houseplants.

I know. I know.

Some of you think you have black thumbs.

But that could not be further from the truth!

It’s more likely, the plants you tried to grow than you just killing stuff.

With plants and flowers, there are some that are super easy and resilient to care for.

And others that are not.

Before choosing and growing any houseplant, it’s important to understand your home’s growing conditions.

Equally important, is knowing how much work you are willing to do.

Because there are plants that require more care than others.

Knowledge is power and it goes a very long way when learning how to be a plant parent.

To learn the basics of houseplant care, CLICK HERE.

If you think you kill everything, I challenge you to start with one snake plant.

They tolerate various light conditions and are SUPER EASY to care for.

Watering is minimal (I water mine like 1x a month) and they add lots of personality and drama to living spaces.

I recommend snake plants to anyone who is just starting out.

It is no fail.

See some of the best indoor growing systems on the market.

If you would like to try other plants that are easy care, I made a great list of low maintenance plants that purify the air.

What does that mean?

It means there are actually plants that clean the air we breathe.

And that’s important because it ultimately helps cut down on the amount of illnesses in our home.

Now I can’t promise you that you’ll see an immediate reduction in illnesses, but I can tell you that my family has significantly cut down the amount of times we get sick in a year.

And I attribute it to my air purifying plants.

Forcing Stems Indoors: Here's How to Do it!

Another way to have a green thumb is to bring the outdoors in!

We can do this by forcing flowering stems indoors.

It is super easy to do and looks beautiful in our homes!

I’ve had great success forcing forsythia, wiegela and some flowering fruit stems.

Because most early blooming plants grow their buds in fall, they’ll need to be dormant for 6 weeks before cutting and bringing indoors.

It’s about that time for me now.

Step 1

With a sharp set of pruning sheers, make cuts at desired lengths and drop in water.

Step 2

Drop fresh cut branches in water and keep them hydrated until you are ready to arrange.

Step 3

Cut stems on an angle before arranging in a vase. This helps the branch take in more water to stay hydrated.

Step 4

Then arrange in your favorite vessel.

Easy peasy!

Plant Flowering Bulbs

There are a few flowering bulbs that you can grow or force indoors.

This year, I am really loving all the amaryllis that I started growing.

I received a bunch from Gardener’s Supply that started blooming on Christmas Day and are still blooming today! They are fabulous!

If you are new to gardening and want something that will bloom with NO CARE AT ALL, try the waxed amaryllis bulbs.

I literally took them out of a box and sat them on the shelf.

And these are the gorgeous blooms that grew!

You can also force spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils indoors.

Just be sure to throw them in the fridge well before you plant them.

They need a chilling requirement to bloom.

There are also bulbs, like paperwhites that don’t need to be chilled.

And they are super easy to grow too!

I didn’t grow them this year but my friend Kelly from the Tattered Pew did.

Starting Plants from Seed

Have you ever started vegetable, herbs or flowers from seed before? It’s really rewarding to start them indoors and plant them outside in the garden.

Starting seeds indoors is a great way to get your green on while it’s still snowing outside.

Plus, you can grow lots of cool things you might not find at the local nursery in spring.

I just started a blog series about how to start seeds indoors without a greenhouse.

Since I live in New Jersey, hardiness zone 6a, I can’t start sowing my seeds until mid-February. So for now, I’m still accumulating my seed starting supplies and setting up my grow system.

Want to start some seeds indoors with me?

Follow along the series and let’s start growing stuff!

The first blog in the series talks about what I’m growing and the supplies needed to prepare.

I hope you’ll join me.

It will be fun!

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Thanks for stopping by today!

Enjoy your day! xoxo