Small space gardening like an apartment garden can be easier and more efficient than bigger gardens and has a wide range of mental, physical, and emotional benefits. To successfully grow a small-space garden, it’s important to take several variables into consideration. You should plan for things like:
- The amount and type of space you have
- What types of plants you will grow
- How you will arrange and place various plants
- The maintenance and watering requirements of your plants
At Liberty Creek Village, we make elevated living easy with plenty of opportunities to improve your lifestyle. We’re an upscale community that takes all the perks of urban life to the next level with luxury accommodations and amenities that give you the perfect spaces to start an apartment garden.
The Benefits of Apartment Gardening
An apartment garden may sound counterintuitive or even ineffective, but small gardens like what you can grow in an apartment offer a surprising number of distinct advantages over larger ones. Better shelter, improved micro-climates, and the absence of problems like weeds, flooding, and poor soil can make gardening in an apartment more efficient, more productive, and more creative.
Small space gardening like in an apartment is also…
Aesthetically pleasing.
Apartment living isn’t what it used to be, but there may still be some limits on how much you can change about your space to make it truly yours. An apartment garden brings vibrant color into your space while adding simple factors like the way the plants move in the breeze from a fan or how they grow over time, introducing dynamism and visual interest to your abode that are difficult to find in traditional décor.
Good for your mental health.
One of the biggest benefits of having an apartment garden is how it can make you feel. Many people find a sense of enrichment in tending to another living thing, and apartment gardens are highly customizable to suit your skill level and interests. In fact, studies have shown that taking care of plants (even in indoor spaces) directly suppresses the autonomic nervous system, making you feel less stressed. When scientists looked at how people respond to plants, they found that as plants grew, the people caring for them tended to have more favorable mental and emotional responses. In turn, they even became sick less often and weren’t as sick when they did fall ill.
Accessible.
Small space gardening is also a more approachable and cost-effective way to try your hand at creating a garden, requiring fewer materials and less space at less expense than a standard garden. It’s more adaptable—you can move the entire thing, try new pots, or experiment with different soil with ease–and easier to maintain, making it appealing to all levels of gardeners and of any age. You can design it to be more comfortable and convenient to work in and you can garden regardless of the weather.
4 Things to Consider When Planning Your Apartment Garden
A successful apartment garden requires some planning. Here are some of the factors to evaluate for each plant that you are considering are:
- Sun. How much sunlight does your apartment get? Is it direct or indirect? Is your apartment facing in a direction that provides enough sunlight hours for the types of plants you want to grow? When choosing plants, make sure you know how much sunlight it needs, whether it’s better suited for sun or shade, and if you have a good place to put it. You can also supplement partial sunlight with a full-spectrum LED grow light to compensate for a lack of natural sun.
- Space. How much space do you have to work with? If you don’t have a lot of floor space, get creative and think vertically. There are planting options for walls and ceilings, as well as hanging containers.
- Size. How big will the plant get at full size? Will you need to repot it if it outgrows its current home?
- Soil. Make sure you start your plants in the right soil. Plants rely on soil for their oxygen, water, and nutrients, and ordinary garden soil will compact too much in pots, restricting access to oxygen and impending water flow. Instead, use a light, fluffy, well-draining potting mix that will keep plant roots healthy and circulate oxygen and water better.
Best Plants for Apartment Gardening
If you’re ready to give apartment gardening a try, the next step is to determine which plants will be best to try growing. Here are some good ideas for plants that do well in small spaces and in a variety of sun conditions.
Best Plants for Indoor Apartment Gardens
- Pothos
- Jade
- Spider plant
- Philodendron
- Dieffenbachia
- Rubber plant
- Fiddle-leaf fig
- Chinese evergreen
- Peace lily
- African violet
- Dracaena
- Norfolk Island pine
- Croton
- Snake plant
- Arrowhead vine
Best Vegetable, Herb, and Fruit Plants for Indoor Apartment Gardens
- Aloe
- Rosemary
- Basil
- Parsley
- Mint
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Lettuce
- Kale
- Compact tomatoes
- Salad greens
- Microgreens
- Garlic
- Radishes
- Carrots
- Chili peppers
4 Tips for Gardening in an Apartment
When it comes to successful gardening in an apartment garden, some strategy goes a long way in making it an enjoyable experience you want to continue. Some tips and tricks to keep in mind as you get started with your apartment garden include:
1. Maximize your space.
An apartment garden will not be as large as what you could create in a backyard—so use that to your advantage. Go tall rather than wide, leveraging containers and plants that like to be vertical to maximize the amount of growth you can achieve within a space. Some planter setups can be stacked, or you can use hanging pots to fully utilize what space you have. In many cases, you can still maintain a wide variety of plants without taking up a sizeable footprint.
2. Choose low-maintenance.
All gardening requires a learning curve, and much of that learning can only be done through practice. Start with low-maintenance plants that are tolerant of under- and over-watering while you get your bearings. You may need to adjust your plans for where to put plants, how often to water them, what type of soil or potting mix to use, and even which species you select in these early stages, so to narrow down what might be going wrong, stick to simplicity. You can incorporate picky and sensitive plants later as you figure out what works best.
3. Plant seedlings.
Starting from a seed is a stressful time for a baby plant, and it can be difficult for them to get established even in the best conditions. Instead of seeds, start with a seedling that has already sprouted and found its footing. This helps to improve your chances of success and gives you a better idea of how it will grow and where you need to place it.
4. Plan for watering.
Over-watering can pose a big problem for apartment gardeners. Too much water can leak onto your floor, while too little can leave your plants thirsty, dry, and fragile. To avoid this, consider alternatives such as self-watering planters, which cycle the water appropriately according to the plant’s needs and the soil’s own moisture retention. This can help to avoid spills and the resulting damage without dehydrating your plants.
Embrace Apartment Gardening at Liberty Creek Village
No matter what your best life looks like, you’ll find it here at Liberty Creek Village. We know that for when you move, it’s the little things–like an apartment garden–that make your new place feel like home, so we go the extra mile to take care of both our military and non-military residents by revolutionizing apartment living, making the leasing process easy and streamlined, and offering fully furnished and pet friendly units upon request. We also host monthly community events to help you settle in quickly and maybe even meet some fellow apartment gardeners.
At Liberty Creek Village, form meets function in all of our distinctive 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units, each boasting our exclusive array of upscale elements, sophisticated styles, and luxury amenities that maximizes visual aesthetics and convenience without sacrificing space or quality. We’re located just minutes from Tinker Air Force Base, but set far apart from your average apartment complex. Contact us today to find your perfect floor plan and start getting the most out of your life in Oklahoma City.
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