A garden is a wonderful treasure that brings peace and comfort to a home. Cicero described the beauty and necessity of a garden when he wrote, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” (I also agree with the library part, but I’ll save that for another time.)
If you don’t have yard space for an outdoor garden or the time to maintain one, consider starting an indoor garden. You can still have the joy and peacefulness of the outdoors inside. Indoor gardens are often small and easy to care for, and they can be added to any room.
Determined to find the best ideas for bringing some outdoor charm indoors, I scoured the Internet for the best do-it-yourself indoor gardening ideas. Many of these DIY projects are simple and can be created using inexpensive materials.
This indoor garden idea offers a creative way to recycle your old soup cans into decorative pots for your sprouting herb garden. Why buy pots when you can create your own? Using old cans, colored paper (the tutorial calls for wallpaper samples, but cardstock or scrapbook paper will also work) and stamps (or markers if stamps are unavailable), you can transform your soup cans into beautiful planters. Add soil and herbs of your choosing, and your cans are ready to go. You can either start your herb garden from seeds or pick plants that are already in bloom for the season.
photo credit: loveshackchic.blogspot.com
2. Mason Jar Hanging Herb Garden
Here’s another great idea for bringing your herb garden inside. This project requires a little more work than the soup can herb garden, but the end result of a clean, beautiful herb garden is well worth it. For this herb garden, you will need a long piece of wood (length depends on how many herbs you want to grow), mason jars, herbs and various tools to hang the jars, all detailed in the project’s instructions.
The mason jar hanging herb garden is a great project because it doubles as wall decoration and saves space on your counter or table for other items. Similar to the soup can herb garden, you can use seeds to start from scratch or plants already in bloom to give yourself a head start.
photo credit: camillestyles.com
This indoor garden idea is a favorite because it can add a sense of elegance to your home. Many tea sets, especially old ones, are beautifully decorated and provide a great foundation for an indoor garden. If you don’t have any tea sets around your house already, you can easily find some at a flea market or thrift store. This DIY tutorial also uses spoons as plant labels by carving the herb names into the spoons. If the spoon labels sound like too much work, build your tea cup garden without them! It will look lovely either way.
photo credit: honestlywtf.com
This miniature indoor garden idea is simple to put together and is the perfect way to add some life to a mantelpiece, window sill or empty counter space that deserves attention. With this project, you’ll need to gather a collection of tiny plants, such as air plants or smaller succulents, and small glass jars to house the plants. Other containers can also be used in place of glass jars. Small drinking glasses or tea cups, for example, are a great substitute.
The best part of this indoor garden idea is that you can set it up without spending a lot of money. Air plants, in particular, are very cheap and can often be purchased in bulk. In addition, inexpensive jars, like old tea sets, can easily be found at a flea market or thrift store.
photo credit: thejungalow.com
Another tiny indoor garden idea is this DIY project that uses eggshells instead of pots or jars. You read that right: eggshells. This one definitely gets points for creativity. The tutorial from Projects from the Kitchen walks you through how to carefully remove the whites and yolk from eggs and then fill the shells with soil and your tiny succulent plants. It also has advice on which succulents are the best to use.
photo credit: thekitchn.com
These simple DIY indoor garden ideas provide a great way to show off your creative side and put your green thumb to use. Now you just have to pick one (or two… or all five) and get planting!