Is it possible to create a winter garden in a city apartment? While the standard apartments are not too large to plan for them such luxury. But if you want to have a place at home that relieves depression, why not try it? You are quite able to make a picturesque corner, which will please you, heal and create a cozy atmosphere in the interior. Where to begin? What plants to choose? In what situation is a mini garden better looked? Where to allocate a place for him? The answers are in our advice!
Where to begin
Before you break a winter mini-garden, it is worth considering for what purposes you need it.
- Do you want to see bright, flowering and fragrant flowers or exotic plants, citrus?
- Perhaps you need a healthy atmosphere in the house, and no matter what the flowers are.
- Do you want to correct the space and harmonize it?
- Or maybe you like neat little plants?
Determine what the garden means to you.Are you and your loved ones allergic to flowers? Will you have the time and patience to take care of the plants? Our opinion: - Choose unpretentious flowers for the first mini-garden: coleus, guzmania, syngonium, hovea, aphelandra, aspidistra, indoor maple. In order for the apartment to have clean air and a favorable microclimate, two or three plants are quite enough. If you want more colors, please. But design the garden in such a way that it does not look like an impenetrable jungle. Do not plant poisonous plants in the garden. Avoid certain types of magnolias and oleander. Oksana Shinkareva, engineer of landscape gardening and landscaping: - When buying plants for a green zone, be sure to take into account their climatic affiliation: living conditions should be approximately the same, otherwise it will be very problematic to provide everyone with appropriate care. Tropics - plants from the genus Ficus, Asparagus, Anthuriums, Dracaena, Aeschinanthus, Dieffenbachia. Subtropics - palms, flowering vines, passion flowers, citrus fruits (lemons, calamondins, oranges, figs), jacquaranda, wisteria. They will decorate the garden with magnificent flowers of azaleas, honeysuckle, camellias, euonymus, calamus, hibiscus. Desert - cacti and aloe, yucca, euphorbia and Kalanchoe, they will help to recreate a truly southern atmosphere of the winter garden. This is a great option for people who do not tolerate high humidity. Fruit garden - you need oranges, pomegranate, Arabian coffee, lemons, crested pineapple, dates. Healing pharmacy - aloe, alamanda, medicinal laurel, black pepper, Kalanchoe. 
Economy options
In order to save space, it is better to placemini garden in the corner. To create beauty, cover the wall with artificial stone. For harmony, combine tall plants with medium and small ones. And put tall flowers closer to the wall. This will create a thick effect. For a small space, one or two large flowers are enough. Catwalks are considered a great solution to save space. Also use hanging pots, small tables, ladder slides, cantilever and moving shelves. All this is very important for small apartments. Oksana Shinkareva, engineer of landscape gardening and landscape construction: - The air humidity must be maintained at the level of 50-80% (depending on the natural conditions of plant habitation). I recommend installing a source of additional moisture, a fountain, an aquarium or a humidifier. This will maintain humidity and protect the plants from drying out on hot summer days, as well as during the heating season, when the air in the apartment is dry. Plants are very responsive to leaf spraying. But this should be done in the morning or evening. If it is a winter garden, then the "artificial fog" setting would be perfect! 
The best place for a mini-garden
For a winter garden, the most optimal option isthe presence of a window. It is great if you chose a room attached to a loggia or with French windows to organize it. This will allow you to get more light, which is especially true for flowering plants. It is better to place them closer to light sources. But not right next to the windows. The optimal distance from glass for plants is 30-50 centimeters. Set up a mini-garden along the wall, next to the window. Large-leaved plants or vines are suitable as a background. Use transparent shelves. It is considered the most favorable option for a winter garden when the windows face west or east. The south side is also great, but so that there is no direct sunlight on the flowers, use translucent curtains to optimize the climate. Place subtropical plants closer to the window, and tropical flowers a little further, which like more diffused lighting. It is also good to install a mini-reservoir right there to humidify the air. It is important to remember that flowers do not like drafts. Oksana Shinkareva, engineer of landscape gardening and landscaping: - The winter garden can be arranged anywhere - it all depends on the selected plants and their habitat conditions. The best locations are west and east windows, glazed balconies, loggias or bay windows. On the north side, plants may have little light, and on the south, on the contrary, solar radiation may be too active. Excessive lighting will require shading. And if insufficient, special phytolamps, like those used in greenhouses. 
How to achieve balance
The winter garden principle is based on three pillars:warmth, light and humidity. This is due to the fact that the winter garden consists mainly of subtropical and tropical plants. In winter, for tropical plants in Africa, Asia, America, the air temperature should not be lower than 18 ° С and not higher than 24 ° С. The subtropical flowers of China, Japan, New Zealand and the desert plants of America and Africa can live in the 13-18 ° C range. Choose plants that are grown in your area, as well as in conditions close to the microclimate of your apartment. When buying plants for a winter garden, always check the conditions and feeding regime that were applied to them. This will help prevent plant death. Artificial ponds and fountains do an excellent job of humidifying the air and are suitable for tropical gardens. It is also appropriate to use them in Japanese style. To make the mini-garden look interesting, combine flowers with large and small leaves. Alternate simple shapes and shades with multi-colored and more sophisticated ones. For balance in the winter garden, backlighting is needed. This is additional lighting for light-loving flowers. This makes the room look more comfortable. Use LEDs, spotlights. Fit them into decorative items. You can install lamps and spotlights next to the pots. Oksana Shinkareva, engineer of landscape gardening and landscaping: - Plants feel comfortable at an average temperature of +18 to + 22 ° С. In winter, the lower limit should not fall below + 12 ° С. 
Winter Garden Style
To make it easier to create a winter garden, it would be nicedefine his style. The most popular modern style is the Japanese garden. It combines elegance, restraint and folk refined eclecticism. It is practical, does not require special attention to itself, and does not take up much space. If you don't want themed options, just create beautiful flower arrangements. They also save space and look very interesting. Pay attention to unpretentious and useful plants such as begonia, cereus, peperonia, fern, cyclamen, asparagus, clivia. Use caladium and akalifa as bright accents, you can add light pink marshmallows. Our opinion: - In a limited space, the center of the composition can be one large plant. And next to it, place small flowers in tubs and pots, a small decorative reservoir and illuminate everything with LEDs or built-in lamps. Plants always look more spectacular on a light background. This will give you a cozy mini-garden. It is worth remembering that tall plants that stand on the floor are able to visually raise the ceiling. Spreading trees, on the contrary, visually lower it. 
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