Got a green thumb? Indulge your Mother Nature gene with an indoor or outdoor garden. Whether you live in a penthouse with a balcony or a sprawling home, there’s an accessory and planting scheme that will transform your home. From Pinterest to local landscapers and nurseries, there are 1,001 ways to personalize your garden.
INDOOR GARDEN
In addition to repurposing vintage treasures, add a kitchen window box with herbs is, a chef’s best friend. Introduce plants that double as air filters or a faceted glass terrarium (westelm.com). At Ikea, you’ll find a Satsumas Plant Ladder with five plant pots in white, perfect for cacti and succulents. Target’s Project 62 matte gray planters are chic and affordable. Or introduce an Urban Cultivator into your kitchen for a constant supply of greens and herbs. The sleek residential 24-inch wide device can be built in and plumbed into a home’s water supply or used as a stand alone and is fronted by a glass door. UrbanCultivator.net
DRESS YOUR GARDEN GREENS
Decorative solar lights (flowers, birds), a one-way mirror bird feeder that attaches to your window for close-up views (Wind & Weather, Wayfair.com) or an Allen + Roth aqua and white coastal-style Citronella candles are fun. Bain Lighting has a collection of outdoor metal furniture from butterflies to dolphins. We also love the benches from the Charming Bench Company. A bench just adds an extra bit of detail to your garden, it provides people a place to sit and relax whilst they enjoy and take in the beauty of your garden.
In St. Petersburg, Patina’s art planters (seen above) are strong and lightweight, with beautiful patterns and colors. The 15” and 18” planters are equipped with discreet wheels, making them easily portable once they are filled. They are self-watering and feature inserts that improve ventilation, keeping roots healthy and plants hardy.
EARTH DAY, EVERY GARDEN DAY
There’s a club, celebration and venue for every garden passion, from orchids to ferns with expert advice for novices. Celebrate all spring! April 21st is Earth Day, while a living plant or fruit tree is the perfect Mother’s Day gift and every day through May, there’s a farmers’ market somewhere in Tampa Bay, including the new Clearwater Farmer’s Market on Saturday.
Brick Street Farms: Chefs love them and you can order your weekly veggies from this indoor city hydroponic farm built in climate-controlled freight containers. BrickStreetFarms.com
Earth Day Festival: On April 21st from 10 am – 5 pm in Williams Park downtown St. Pete, enjoy interactive exhibits, good food, great music, shopping vendors, and the chance to learn how to do your part to create a more sustainable planet.
St. Pete Eco-Village: This hands on educational center offers community garden courses and methodologies in sustainable living practices.
Florida Native Plants: Learn about the hardiest and prettiest native plants and shrub choices for your landscape at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve and Florida Botanical Gardens. Weedon Island conducts walks and classes on local ecosystems and how to grow vegetables with sub-irrigated planters.
Garden Clubs: Check out the Tampa Rose Society on Facebook, The Bromeliad Guild of TampaBay.org (bromeliadguildoftampabay.org) and West Coast Bromeliads, the Tampa Orchid Club, The Fern Garden Club and West Coast Orchids group (fwcos.org).
Green Thumb Festival: On April 28-29, Walter Fuller Recreation Center features arborists, environmental and horticultural exhibits and vendors, butterfly plants, a diagnostic soil and water sample clinic, a recycling rally, children’s tree climbing and a garden wagon parade! stpeteparksrec.org/greenthumb
Sunken Gardens: Stroll meandering paths, lush with exotic plants, a beautiful demonstration garden and more than 50,000 tropical plants, and flowers. Offers garden tours, horticultural programs and more. (stpete.org/visitors/sunken_gardens.php)
