Tip# 80: Houseplants.
Up there? The afternoon shadows that the plants on my windowsill cast onto my apartment wall.
The tip? Fill your tiny apartment with houseplants. Mostly small ones.
My very first apartment tip was to use tiny pots. I still hold to this mostly, but I think it’s worth saying that tiny pots are hard to sustain. Plants, like humans, eventually need a little leg room and they’re not likely to last very long in very tiny pots, adorable though they are. So I make a compromise and choose small over tiny.
For me the trick is to stash green things in places where they’re not in the way but where they can still work hard. A bathroom shelf, a windowsill, suspended from the shower rod…
Lately, I’ve been drawn to plants that come in soft hues potted up in white pots. Too many colors in a small space and I begin to feel claustrophobic. Instead, I prefer to let the plants themselves shine and to choose a neutral pot to ensure that happens. My latest love? The hardy blue fern.
Tiny Apartment Tips 1-79.
Soft plants, white pots, delivered.
Lots more houseplant ideas here.
3 Comments
plants are a good thing. truly. they clear the air and provide life in the tiniest of places. xo
This is a dumb question, but are the plants more likely to last longer if you put them by the window? The reason I'm asking is that even if I put my plant by the window, it wouldn't get that much sunlight because I keep my shades drawn; my window directly faces other apartments and I have very nosy neighbors.
We have a small, not tiny appartment, but definitely a tiny French balcony. And each harvest season (i.e. now) I am impressed by how many chilis, peppers, herbs and – new this year – even potatoes we get from it. Tomatoes, however, didn't work out. They need more water than I can give them in small pots, especially if I am not at home for more than one day.
If the plants grow too big, I either cut or divide them. This has the advantage that I can also give some to friends with bigger pots on bigger balconies.
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