This is the time of year when most of us begin to yearn for
the outdoors. Those four walls that seemed so cozy in December
start feeling a bit too much like permanent detention come
February. Venture beyond them, though, and you may not find
much to cheer you, especially if you live in the northern
latitudes. But if we can't hurry the world beyond our windows
into bloom, we can at least alter the interior landscape.
Nothing cures a family-wide case of cabin fever--and makes a
home more fun to live in--like a little gardening in the great
indoors. So here we offer a handful of projects that are easy
to create and care for. Most, in fact, can be put together with
materials you probably already have around the house. And
because extra space is as rare as roses during these
stuck-indoors days, most have been designed to fit snugly on a
sunny windowsill. With a little luck, they'll do double duty in
the waning weeks of winter, brightening both your home and your
family's spirits.
| Prep Time: About 1 to 2 hours | |
| What you need: | |
|
Desert In A Box
Plastic drawer organizer 50/50 mixture of potting soil and builder's sand Variety of miniature cactus Gravel Desert decorations Popcorn in a Picket Planter Wooden clementine box Wooden clothespins Wooden beads Glue Latex semigloss wall paint Plastic seedling trays Potting soil Popcorn kernels | |
| Seasons: Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter, Year round | |
| Materials: flowerpot | |
| Instructions: | |
| 1. |
Desert In A Box:
We started with a plastic drawer organizer filled with a 50/50 mixture of potting soil and builder's sand (you can also use premixed cactus soil). We selected a variety of miniature cacti (look for them in garden centers and florist's shops), transplanted them into the soil mix using salad tongs, and lightly watered them in. We then added a thin layer of gravel (from the pots the cacti came in), along with some desert decorations: a steer skull crafted from modeling clay, a guardian lizard (from a local craft shop), a plastic cowboy, and a road marker made from craft sticks. To keep your cacti happy, water them once a month until the soil is damp to the touch but not soggy. |
| 2. |
Popcorn in a Picket Planter:The planter's base is a wooden
clementine box. We glued a line of wooden clothespins to the top
edge, and wooden beads atop the corner posts and the adjacent
clothespins.
Once the glue was dry, we gave the planter two coats of paint (we used latex semigloss wall paint). We set plastic seedling trays--easily removed for watering--inside the box and filled each to an inch from the top with potting soil. We then sprinkled on popcorn kernels (not the microwave kind) and covered them with another half inch of soil. We kept the soil moist, and our corn was up in about a week. The greenery lasted for several weeks more. |
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