How to maximize minimal spaces

When I first began collecting houseplants, my husband and I lived in a 1,200 sq ft shared apartment. To put it kindly, the odds of growing remarkable houseplants did not seem to be in our favor. The only ‘window’ in our living room was the door to our screened in balcony, complete with unremovable blinds. It took me a few brutally murdered plants to realize that low light and no light were not interchangeable. Picture me leaning over a yellow rotting snake plant, scratching my head wondering why it was not thriving in my enclosed bathroom. Listen, i’m not proud of this moment of ignorance but I really did have not a single clue what it took to be a plant parent! I never in a million years would have pictured myself where I am now, making a life for and with my amazing collection. Today I would like to share with you space saving tips for collecting plants indoors or in small areas.

I don’t consider myself a minimalist per say but I do like to practice a minimalistic mindset of not holding on to items that do not serve me anymore. As we developed our love for gardening and plants, our collection grew from a few plants to over twenty in the blink of an eye. We got rid of a fish tank and rearranged our furniture to take advantage of the very minimal natural lighting we had. In order to grow plants indoors you must first observe your home to see where you can place A plant according to it’s specific light requirements. Through trial and error we found what works best for each of our plants and kept them there for the entirety of our lease. Once we moved, our plants did initially suffer a shock from changing environments, but They adapted quickly to their new home. (Be on the lookout for a blog post about moving houses in the near future). I have found that when bringing plants from one environment to another they can suffer shock or halt growing temporarily while they adjust. Keep this in mind when bringing new plants home from a nursery and when possible, avoid repotting your new plant until it has adapted to your home.

Plant Stands

The first space saving hack is to use and abuse plant stands. for indoor plant collecting, stands will be your greatest friend. Though they might be an enemy to your wallet. Individual planter stands can range anywhere from $15 to $100.You can find plant stands virtually everywhere from home improvement stores to goodwill. Take advantage of resale stores or consignment shops to find the cheapest available. You can also find them at yard sales, garage sales, and Facebook marketplace for remarkably cheaper than brand new. When using plant stands I like to lift my taller plants up and to put my smaller plants below or in front of them to really maximize the space I am using.

Plant stands especially come in handy with larger statement plants that can be difficult to move for watering. As long as there is proper drainage, you can simply put a drip bowl under the stand when watering larger plants so you don’t have to move it.

Shelving

I LOVE using shelving to display groups of plants and maximize space. There is a large variety of decorative shelves you can choose from that will blend seamlessly into your space. Unlike plant stands, shelving and furniture can be found in virtually every interior design category so you can personalize the shelf to the atmosphere of the room. Another plus to using A bookcase or ladder design shelf is that you can incorporate your own decor on different shelf levels WITH your plants to really accentuate whatever vibe you want in your home, and the added storage is convenient as well.

The ladder shelf in my living area was on clearance at Tj Maxx for $30 and features 4 shelves and a drawer on the bottom. As a mom of a mobile infant (soon to be toddler!) it would be silly for me to assume that my plants would be safe from the crushing death sentence that is my sons grubby little hands. I am the silliest because I knew for a fact that he would not hesitate to torment my poor plants, Yet I still insisted on leaving them within reach, in hopes that with time he would learn to be gentle with the plants. After grieving many lost leaves I begrudgingly removed everything from the shelf within reach and replaced it with appropriate toys for my son to play with. Leaving me with two shelves to work with which is plenty room for the setup that i have currently

Another upside to using shelving units is the capability to tuck certain types of grow lights into the bottom side of shelves to provide your plants with great lighting. (Blog post on grow light recommendations & uses coming soon)

Shelves work as multifunctional stands to display multiple plants in a minimalistic and decorative manner.

Floating shelves will keep smaller plants out of reach of animals and save floor space.

The cluster method

When we were living in our smaller apartment, our living room felt like a jungle. There was hardly room to walk freely without being smacked in the face by giant foliage or stepping on a leaf. Our plants were clustered together to maximize the small area of natural light our living room received. Clustering my plants together helped me in so many different ways however and i still cluster my plants now when i have much more space to live in. So what is the cluster method?

Well, it’s simply just grouping together plants when you can. When plants (especially tropical ones) are grouped together they are naturally competing to get the most light and nutrients they need which results in a plant that is hardier than a plant that has no competition. Another plus to grouping your plants together is that they can create their own mini biome around them under the right conditions. If you group multiple plants around a humidifier they will create their own pocket of moisture within one another resulting in less frequent watering for you.

Clustering your plants together according to their specific needs and requirements can also make it easier for you to care for them when it does come time to water, treat, and nurture them. Make sure the plants you are grouping together have similar requirements to avoid forgetting about or neglecting your more needy green friends.

The downside to grouping plants together is that diseases and pests can spread much easier when plants are in close proximity to one another. Be diligent in inspecting your plants regularly for signs of infestations or infections. When bringing new plants home be sure to inspect them thoroughly for signs of pests or diseases before introducing them to your collection. When possible, quarantine your new babies to prevent any nonsense.

Besides a few decorative strays, i cluster all of my plants with one or more plant friends to keep them happiest and make my life easier.

Hanging plants

Hanging planters and macrame work great for saving floor space and look beautiful with many different interior designs. You can hang plants from curtain rods, or just straight on a wall if you’d like. Macrame planters are great for taking advantage of natural light from windows. You can practically hang any smaller (lighter) plants in macrame but I have found that vining plants specifically enjoy them.

Repotting your plants

Something that is often overlooked is the amount of space your plants POT takes up. Remember that your plants should only have a few inches of room to grow and that giving them too much room in their pots not only takes up unnecessary space, but can also lead to stunted growth and root rot in your plants. When purchasing plants from nurseries or big box stores be sure to check the roots and see if they are too tightly squeezed or if they have too much room to grow.

There are many ways that you can save space while growing your plant collection. Decorative shelves, plant stands, and macrame plant hangers can help free up floor space. clustering plants together can maximize your floor space by designating a specific area to all or some of your plants.

Stay tuned for new blog posts!Please let me know what you think or would like to hear about by leaving a comment (: