My indoor garden

I never used to be a good gardener. I seemed to possess the remarkable "gift" of being able to kill a plant simply by looking at it. Numerous attempts at any sort of gardening on my part always ended in disaster, until I discovered succulents. In an attempt to green up my little apartment I have been gradually collecting small succulents and an array of interesting planters to put them in. After learning that succulents are easy to care for, require minimal watering, and are hardy and long-lasting I figured they would be the perfect option for a novice gardener such as myself. And it's true, all my little plants seem to need to thrive is good quality potting mix and a sprinkling of water here and there.

Starting off with something simple like an indoor succulent garden has allowed me to begin to appreciate gardening more and more. Now I find I am constantly drawn to interesting gardening projects that I see here and there - things that could work well indoors. And as my gardening skills improve I find that I'm ready to take on a slightly bigger project. This is how I discovered vertical gardening. I find the idea really unique. Vertical gardens often use vintage crates and boxes as wall-mounted planters that can then be potted with variety of plants. It seems that succulents work especially well for this, which is perfect for me!


Wall-mounted succulent garden, from Radmegan.


Vertical alcove garden, from Houzz.


Tin can planters, from Recycle Art.


Plant art by Heidi Norton, from Collected.


Incredible building-sized garden, from Leslie Miles.

For those that are feeling as inspired as I am by this collection of incredible vertical garden images (found on my internet travels), then you're in luck - in the Summer Favourites section of our February issue you'll find a great DIY project to make your own (page 144)!

I know I'll be heading to the hardware store this weekend to pick up supplies and getting stuck into this fun project. If you're thinking of trying it too, let's compare notes!