Tag: indoor gardening

Sage Advice®

« Back
05.19.22 | Community & Lifestyle

The Best Houseplants to Bring Life to Your Living Space

At Sage Collective, we recognize the vast health benefits that come with getting your hands dirty and gardening. Whether it’s a community garden, a personal herb garden, or simply adopting a few plants for your home, surrounding yourself with greenery helps improve everything from the air to your mood. We’ve previously shared our tips for caring for houseplants, but today, we’re exploring which plants would make the best fit for your home. Whether you’re a gardening expert or new to the plant world, here’s our guide on the best houseplants to bring life to your living space. 

Snake Plant

Snake Plants are one of the most popular houseplants for a reason – actually, many reasons! Not only do they adapt to any space they are put in, large or small, but they are one of the easiest plants to take care of. Whether you have an abundance of natural light in your home or are lacking the sun’s rays, your Snake Plant will find a way to thrive in any corner. And, even though they range from one to four feet tall, they still make the perfect plant for small spaces, considering the little width they take up. 

Boston Fern

A fern is an essential element of any person’s indoor plant collection, and what better option than the Boston Fern? Don’t let the fern aspect of the plant scare you. While it loves humanity and bright, indirect light – making it the perfect porch plant – it’s pretty easy to care for. Not only will they supply your living environment with lush greenery, but ferns are also known for their ability to clean the air they live in. Another benefit of the Boston Fern is that it is pet safe for dogs and cats! 

Monstera

What is often presented as just the trendy plant is actually one of the best plants to invite life to your indoor space. Because they exude tropical, lush energy, Monsteras can quickly transform the feel of any environment. They are easy to care for, considering they do best in bright, indirect sunlight, aren’t strict with watering, and usually alert you with visual cues when they need some extra attention. 

Anthurium

You can’t have an indoor garden without having at least one blooming beauty. While there are many options to choose from, we believe Anthuriums are the best all-around flowering plant for your indoors. Surprisingly easy to care for, Anthurium plants are a great beginner plant for those who are scared they might not have the green thumb for a blooming plant. They love water and humid environments and, when completely satisfied, will bloom the most vibrant red flowers. 

Whether you’re looking to decrease stress and anxiety, hope to improve your air quality and mood, or simply want to brighten up your living environment with some greenery, adopting a houseplant – or a few – is sure to benefit you more than one way. So, what are you waiting for; Find your local plant store and discover the perfect plant to bring a little extra life into your living space.

 

› Back to top

Sage Advice®

« Back
06.01.21 | Community & Lifestyle

Starting an indoor herb garden is easy — here’s how

It’s easiest to eat healthy when you cook delicious, fresh, and flavorful food — and incorporating fresh herbs into your home cooking is a great way to add that extra burst of flavor. Lucky for us, you don’t need an advanced green thumb or even a backyard to grow these fresh, delicious herbs yourself, right from the comfort of your own kitchen – here’s how.

Picking Your Plants

There’s a wide array of herbs that will grow and thrive indoors all year round. These plants include basil, chives, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Decide which flavors are your favorite to incorporate in your cooking, and start off with 3-4 different plants. Each plant’s needs will vary slightly, so be sure to plant each herb in its own separate pot so you can adjust your care routine accordingly. 

You’ll often find herb plants, such as basil, available to you in your local grocery store’s produce department. Alternatively, visit your local garden center (Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards are all great resources for this) for a wider array of herb plants to choose from.

The Right Conditions

There are several things that any plant needs to thrive. Before you begin the process of purchasing and planting your fresh herbs, you should determine where in your household the herbs will live. Herbs prefer a lot of sunlight — six hours of full sunlight each day is ideal. Therefore, you should choose the sunniest spot in your home as the location of your herb garden, prioritizing locations that are close to the window, rather than the center of the room. For example: window sills are the perfect spot for an indoor herb garden! Once that’s settled, you can move onto actually planting your herbs.

First you’ll need the right pot. For indoor herbs, be sure to choose a container with ample drainage. You can tell which pots have appropriate drainage by checking for holes in the bottom of the container; these holes will allow water to escape the soil as needed.

Second, it’s important to choose the right soil for your herb. Most herbs do best with a standard indoor potting mix, and will be even happier if that mix is one that advertises good drainage. 

As we mentioned above, be sure to plant all your herbs in separate, individual containers. This ensures that when it comes time to water, you can check the soil of each pot and only water the plants that are in need of added moisture at that time. Because most herbs live in loose, fast-draining soil, you should check your plant’s soil every day (or every other day) to see how much moisture it has retained. Herb plants do best when their soil is slightly moist, but not soggy. Too much watering, and you’ll drown your plant.

When it comes time to harvest and enjoy your fresh herbs, always take in moderation. Regular pruning is good for your plants, but too much at once, and your plant won’t be happy. 

Overall, the more time you spend caring for your herb garden, the better you’ll learn to understand your plants needs. And as you care for your plants, they’ll care for you too, by providing healthy and fresh flavor to all your meals!

A window sill herb garden
› Back to top

Sage Advice®

« Back
11.25.20 | Community & Lifestyle

Growing Your Green Thumb — With Indoor Houseplants

With winter quickly approaching, in many parts of the country, it’s time to bring the great outdoors… indoors. Keeping houseplants is the perfect way to incorporate nature into your everyday life, even on those days when getting outside isn’t an option. Houseplants also make for lovely additions to home design, help improve indoor air quality and even serve to boost your mood. So today, we’re talking about how you can grow your green thumb indoors by sharing some houseplant 101 tips.

Consider Sunlight

Whenever deciding to add a new houseplant to your home, you first have to consider two primary factors: where will the houseplant go, and how much sunlight will it receive? If your new leafy friend is going to live on a bookshelf by an eastern facing window, you can expect ample sunlight exposure. But if the plant is going in a room without windows that receives little sunlight, be prepared to choose a plant that can thrive in those lowlight conditions.

A good way to gauge whether your houseplant is getting the appropriate amount of light is to inspect the leaves. Yellow leaves signify either a lack of sunlight, or a lack of water. Leaves that begin to brown on the edges, as if burned, are being scorched by too much sunlight.

Watering Regularly

All plants will need regular watering. A good rule of thumb is to water your houseplants once per week, but this may change depending on sunlight and the time of year. Many store-bought houseplants will come with specific instructions.

It’s good practice to choose a specific day for watering (say a Saturday morning) in order to make it into a regular habit. You can also check if your plant needs water by sticking an index finger into the soil. Even if the top of the soil appears wet, if the soil half an inch below is dry, your plant may require more water.

Beginner-Friendly Plants

Choosing what plant will fare best in your home’s specific conditions is an important part of the process. Take the time to do your research before buying a houseplant, or ask a clerk at the store for their help and advice. Those new to keeping houseplants will do best to choose from a list of beginner-friendly options, including pothos, spider plants, snake plants, succulents and cacti. 

Whether you start with just one houseplant, or grow your collection to become an indoor jungle, indoor gardening is the perfect way to introduce vibrant living to your winter months — and beyond.

A wooden shelf is lined with pots of succulents and other potted houseplants
› Back to top