(StatePoint) Gardeners often focus on the science of their hobby: how much water and sunlight their plants need and how to improve soil quality and keep pests at bay. But there can be a lot of artistry behind the craft as well — from how you harvest and enjoy flowers to how you convert unused spaces of your home into a viable indoor edible garden.
Put your creativity to good use this spring season by gardening with style.
Indoor Gardening
For those who don’t have an outdoor garden or yard, the dream of enjoying your own freshly picked fruits and vegetables may seem out of reach. However, the nooks and crannies of your home can be creatively rendered into productive growing zones. And experts say that nearly all homes can support indoor gardening.
“Whatever the size of your home, there will be a selection of edible plants you can grow indoors, as long as you have some natural daylight filtering in,” says Zia Allaway, author of “Indoor Edible Garden: Creative Ways to Grow Herbs, Fruit and Vegetables in Your Home.” “The areas where plants will grow can be windowsills, beneath a skylight or even in a dark, unlit area if you install grow lights.”
In “Indoor Edible Garden,” a highly visual guide full of practical tips and stylish ideas, Allaway offers step-by-step directions for everything from creating suspended shelves and hanging jars for growing herbs to mounting edible orchids onto bark and displaying them on walls. She points out that those embarking on indoor gardening should first evaluate the level of time they can commit.
“Just remember that unlike other projects in the home, such as decorating and cooking, all gardening projects require some aftercare. So, if you have a busy schedule, choose crops that will tolerate less watering and feeding.”
Flower Arranging
While your flower garden is likely a beautiful work of art in and of itself, you can spread the joy by harvesting your flora and bringing the beauty indoors. Floral arrangements add vitality to any interior space.
“For me, every arrangement starts with the container. Think about what mood or style you want to evoke, and remember, anything can be a container as long as it can be made watertight,” says Rachel Siegfried,” author of “The Flower Book: Natural Flower Arrangements for Your Home,” which explores 60 flowers, bloom-by-bloom in portraiture, including quick-reference profiles and tips.
Siegfried recommends that, when selecting flowers for your arrangement, pay attention to shapes, textures and colors to achieve good balance. Start with a primary focal flower and build out with a couple of secondary focals, a final flourish, and foliage.
For her part, she relies on instinct. “I get a ‘buzz’ when I find a good combination,” she says.
From flowering bouquets to spicy pepper plants, apply creativity to your gardening this spring.
Photo Credit: (c) Lukas Gojda – Fotolia.com
