A tiny indoor oasis

In addition to completing my DIY floor cushion last weekend, I also decided it was time to get some green into the apartment. When it comes down to it, I was just in the mood for some gardening. My mom had award-winning gardens, and most of my siblings have some variety of gardens at their places. I think it's safe to say it runs in our blood.

Unfortunately, my second floor apartment doesn't really allow for many gardening opportunities. Instead of being discouraged, I created this:


It was pretty easy to do, relatively affordable, and since they are all cacti and succulents, they are super easy to care for. I started out by grabbing my supplies.


Instead of a traditional pot, I used an old fishbowl I had around the apartment. After a good wash, it was set to go. I also used some random marbles I had on hand to ensure good drainage in the soil. Then, when we were at Home Depot earlier in the day, I grabbed a bag of cactus potting soil and a handful of small plants.


There wasn't really anything scientific to my choices- I just tried to grab plants that were small enough for my vessel, but made sure that each one had different textures and colors. Then, I put just a small amount of dirt over the pebbles at the bottom of the bowl. It's hard to tell, but I sloped the soil up in the back to allow a few of the plants to stand up a bit higher.


Then I just carefully took the plants out of their pots and played around with a design until I liked what I saw. Seriously, be careful if you attempt this- that little fuzzy guy ended up grabbing my finger and not letting go!


Once I had a design I was digging (hehe) I carefully filled in the rest of the soil. My two best friends here was a small teaspoon and a straw. The spoon allowed me to fill in the tiniest gaps, and the straw worked perfectly as a little manual dust blower to remove any soil that got onto my little plants.


After I finished securing all the roots with soil, I gave all six of my new little friends a drink of water. Cacti and succulents don't need much water at all to survive, but it is still a good idea to water them after transplanting, just like any other plant. I ended up bringing the whole thing inside since it is still a bit chilly to have these guys outdoors. But doesn't it look pretty on our coffee table?


I'm such a nerd. But this little change makes me so happy every time I walk into the room. So much so that I'm pretty sure Brian is getting really sick of me commenting every time I walk past. Oh well.

My little planting project also didn't break the bank, which is pretty exciting with so many building expenses in our life. Here's the rundown:
That's a grand total of $20.55- not bad for how much happiness the silly thing has brought me in less than a week!

Any of you have mini indoor gardens? Or maybe sprawling outdoor ones? We can't wait until we have a place with a backyard so I can garden away, let the dog run free, and enjoy some quality grill time!

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