Tips for House Plants and Creating an Indoor Green Space on a Budget

Benefits of indoor green spaces abound, here are some tips to help you start one for you and your family. 

There are many levels, beginner to master, to having a green space. It really relates to mastery of horticulture. Some people work years and have epic green spaces or indoor arboretums. Don't think you have to set you goals so high so fast, you will get there. You don’t have to go and buy all these plants immediately, or grow some extremely rare plants your first year. Take small steps and improve your indoor green space little by little, and before you know it, you will have a "jungle" in your house.  

For those of you looking to start an indoor green space, continue your growing season indoors without a greenhouse, or just start a new project; here are some ideas on how you can go elevate your indoor green space skills and get to your green space dreams a little easier:

1.     Learn about the naturally air purifying and humidifying effect of indoor plants

This is incredible and it will empower you in your indoor plant space design. NASA did a study in 1989 that showed certain types of low light plants can actually clean toxins from the air.  Not only do certain plants do this better, all plants also release moisture into the air via transpiration. These plants evapotranspire the moisture into your living space to increase humidity levels.

2. Start plants from seed inside

Start an avocado tree from seed. That one seems to be popular, but start other things,  like fig trees, lemon tree, sunflowers, etc. Use the indoor space to help jumpstart your outdoor green space.  Your weather conditions may not be the best outdoors. It behooves you to make the most of your indoor space and plant some new purpose, no pun intended. A great plant to grow from seed that most people can put to use is catnip. 

3. Propagate plants

Having a propagation station, or a means to propagate plants is key in building your indoor rainforest of a green space. It’s also a great way to trade cuttings or give plants away as gifts to people.

4. Self Watering Pots

As precaution, its safest to use self watering pots on plants that are expensive or perhaps require special care or attention. Self Watering pots are great in drier climates where you tend to need to water more frequently, even indoors. Buying the right kind of pots up front can really help you be successful in the long run.

5. Go Vertical

You may not have a lot of space, build up. Not everyone has large window space, and you may have to make the most of what you got and go up. Adding shelves, or a cute curtain rod above a window are ways to expand the amount of sunlight you can capture without sacrificing too much living space.

6. Pick Easy Plants First, then Get Harder Ones

Pothos, Spider plant, snake plant, etc. Just get simple plants, don’t go to the nursery and buy some plants you have never heard of before. The best starter house plants of all time are the Pothos varieties. They are low maintenance, low light, and easy to propagate for sharing with other budding plant lovers.  Pothos provide the most immediate benefits to the buyer;  growing quickly, cleaning air, requiring little maintenance, humidifying the room, and ready to propagate. They can be found in grocery stores, Home Depot, Lowes, and are probably one of the most accessible air purifying plants around due to how easy they are to propagate. 

7. Plan to Expand

Your plants will grow, they will need bigger pots. The old pots will need new plants. This is just part of taking care of a green space and seeing the evolution take place. Be prepared for it. It will make having a green space more enjoyable when you have a manageable space and anticipate those changes.

8. Find Pots at Garage Sales

This is another way to help aid in creating your indoor green space on a budget and ties into #7. While looking for bargains is always a good thing, repurposing someones items is also a win. You should also consider the same thing. As you find new pots, prepare to get rid of the old ones you may no longer need. You may have upgraded, or got lucky with a great garage sale find. If you got lucky, pass the good luck onto another by donating the old pots to a neighbor or new community green space.

9. Create Your Own Unique Pots

Make your own pots. Paint one, upcycle a tire, 3D print one, or make one out of a teapot. Whatever you do, spruce up your green space and make sure you have plenty of talking pieces. Spruce it up with fancy pots, one-of-a-kind pots, face pots, and even pots you have made yourself!  

10.   Treat Plants Like an Investment

It may sound silly, but I like to I loosely call this kind of return “greenvesting”. I bundle it up there with that term because it's more literal, not the kind of stuff that goes into the stock market. This kind of return is minimal but as plants grow, they do grow in value. The easiest way to prove this is that a pack of seeds is around 3$, and a month old plant of one of those seeds is about 3$. This is the basis of every nursery or micro boutique plant business. Creating the plant and growing it adds value. Buy them small, and let the plants grow over time. In 10 years, your 10$ plant could be worth 100$.  This isn’t going to make you rich, but it’s a nice addition on top of cleaning and humidifying the air while providing one nice indoor décor. Although not by much, plants are assets that appreciate.

11.   This is All Year Long

Indoor green spaces have the advantage of being able to be green all year long. The benefits of your indoor space last all year long.  You don't have to take a break during the winter, you can keep growing and keep propagating. Always have something growing passively, it will help you get to your garden dreams quicker.