How to Garden with No Garden
Words by Jessica Peace
SEEING GREEN
Most of us don’t have our own little patch of earth, so time to get creative and shove our plant pals in where we can.
YOUR GREEN GAFF
Each room in your gaff has its own climate; go back to your plant’s roots and put your little green friends in a spot most like their old home.
THE BATHROOM – think Rainforest/ Subtropics
Who grows in a gaff like this?
BEGINNER GARDENER: Spider Plant, Kentia Palm
BRAVER GARDENER: Orchid, Carnivorous Plants
WINDOW SILL [INSIDE] – think Dessert/ Club Med
Who grows in a gaff like this?
BEGINNER GARDENER: Cacti, String of Hearts
BRAVER GARDENER: String of Pearls... try making this space into your mini greenhouse and grow your seeds here.
LET’S GO OUTSIDE
Container gardening – fill your boots! You’ll be surprised what you can
squeeze into a pot.
WINDOW BOX/ WINDOWSILL [OUTSIDE]
BEGINNER GARDENER: Geraniums, Bulbs
BRAVER GARDENER: Dwarf Conifers, Ornamental Cabbage, Courgettes
DOORSTEP
BEGINNER GARDENER: Bay Tree – and you can practice your topiary skills.
BRAVER GARDENER: Got space for a sack? Grow some spuds.
BALCONY
BEGINNER GARDENER: Trailing Nasturtiums
BRAVER GARDENER: Grow some climbers; edible – Peas, Beans etc. Or ornamental – try ‘bee friendly’ flowers, you’ll be surprised how high insects and garden birds will reach.
UP THE WALL
BEGINNER GARDENER: [INSIDE] Devil’s Ivy
BRAVER GARDENER: [OUTSIDE] try vertical gardening or ‘green walls’. If you need to do it on the cheap grab a discarded palate or old book shelves, secure and slot your plants in.
TERRARIUM
You can buy all sorts of Crystal Maze shapes now – or you can DIY with a fish bowl. Keep it open for dessert conditions OR closed for the rainforest.
OPEN
BEGINNER GARDENER: Ivy
BRAVER GARDENER: Succulents
CLOSED
BEGINNER: Moss
BRAVER: Fittonia
UNDERWATER LOVE
AQUAPONICS – like your fishes and your flowers? In a nut shell you’re creating
a habitat where the plants feed from the waste products of the fish and filter
their water as a thank you.
ONLY FOR THE BRAVE
UP IN THE AIR
Air plants – no soil necessary. For the creative – and the lazy!
For the complete ‘House Rules’ on greening up your gaff – and growing your air plant out of a dinosaur, have a flick through Nik’s book.