Living in a city comes with so many benefits, however green space is not always one of them. There are tons of gorgeous parks and gardens in San Francisco, but I still wanted to have a little more green in our apartment. We live on the second floor of a three-story building with a couple of trees trickled down our very busy street, making having plants in our home even more important.
Window boxes
Window boxes are a great way to add the illusion of a garden to your cityscape. Having lived in a teeny tiny (but lovely) apartment in Italy for years, my roommate and I made the most out of our 2x4ft balcony. Hanging plants off the balcony railings allowed us to pack the space with greenery while still giving us enough space to keep a couple of chairs. I don’t have any balconies here, but my husband managed to find some window boxes that fit outside our two large kitchen windows. Now instead of looking at a wall, I can see our freshly planted garden of flowers and herbs.
Large plants
Every house needs at least one large plant. They ground a room, are great for the air, and are just plain beautiful. Ficuses are great, and pretty low maintenance! In our home I chose a coffee plant. It’s not very large now, but should grow in a tree that is about 6-8ft.
Living walls
I have been seeing living walls everywhere lately! From restaurants, shops, even weddings! They come is many shapes and sizes, making this a completely customizable way of adding plants to your home. Hang terrariums filled with succulents, mount jars of herbs, or fill boxes with your favorite potted plants.
Fresh cut flowers
If maintaining plants feels like too much work, consider adding fresh cut flowers to your table. No need to wait for a special occasion to have a beautiful bouquet of flowers in your home. Just because they don’t last forever, doesn’t mean you cant enjoy them for the short term. If that still feels like too much consider a bunch of lavender. This will last for months, and even in a dried state, offer a wonderful perfume. Cherry blossom branches also make a wonderfully long lasting fresh cut arrangement.
Happy planting!