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.

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 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?

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 (: