Who doesn’t love sitting in a beautiful garden? The flowing green grass, the smell of the flowers, the clear blue sky above, ah – how peaceful and relaxing. But unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have a garden in their own backyard, so what to do? Everyone can have their very own oasis of tranquility in the form of a desktop garden.
What is a Desktop Garden?
A desktop garden is pretty much what it sounds like; it’s a little mini garden that you grow and maintain indoors right there on your desk. Typically, desktop gardens feature succulents such as cacti and other low-maintenance, easy-to-grow plants and flowers.
At least that’s the very basic concept. But desktop gardens can be as simple or elaborate as you like. Some people like little zen gardens, where the beauty is in the simplicity, whereas others prefer to go all out adding water features, tiny pieces of furniture, or whatever else brings them peace of mind while working from home.
What do you need for a Desktop Garden?
Okay, okay, so assuming you don’t plan on creating the gardens of Versailles in your den, what do you really need to get started? What are the essentials? Well, at the very minimum, you’ll need a couple of things. You’ll need a planter or a few small desktop pots; whatever makes you feel at ease will do just fine. Next, you’ll need to choose some plants you love, and you’ll need a little desktop grow light, and maybe some small pebbles or soil.
That’s about it; that’s all you’ll absolutely need to get started. So, let’s look at what you’ll need to do to build your little piece of paradise step-by-step. Spoiler alert, it’s really easy.
Preparation
Clean your desk
The first thing you’ll need to do is clean your desk, don’t worry, we know your desk is already spotless, but just in case it’s not, take a few minutes to clean the area and prepare for the marvelous garden you’re about to create. That might mean reorganizing a few things; maybe you need to move your printer or some paperwork; whatever the case may be, you want the area to be clean, calm, and ready for your zen garden to manifest.
Choose the perfect space
So, now that your desk is clean and organized, the next step is to choose the perfect space for your little garden. Some people have huge desks, whereas others only have small workspaces; it doesn’t really matter how much surface area you have to work with. What matters is that you set aside a small plot of real estate for your garden.
Once you’ve chosen the perfect place, you’ll want to measure so you know exactly how much “land” you have to work with; this will make planting your garden that much easier and save you the hassle of having to rearrange things after you’ve purchased your materials.
Okay, so you’ve measured your space, and you know how much room you have for your garden. Perfect. The next step is coming up with the design and choosing your materials. This is where the real fun begins.
Pick your materials
Now, some people like to use wooden planters, others prefer small desktop pots, others prefer vases; as long as you know what you like and you can find something that fits within your space, you’ll be all set. Remember, plants need a few things to grow and thrive. They need soil or some form of growing medium. They need light and a little bit of warmth, and they need water occasionally. Other than that, lots of love is all they’ll need to grow into the desktop oasis of tranquility you deserve.
Find the perfect plants
Most people choose to plant succulents, like a cactus, aloe vera, or another low maintenance indoor plant because these plants can retain water for a long time and don’t require much work. That said, if you’re someone who doesn’t mind watering your garden daily, then the possibilities are endless, but you want your garden to bring you peace of mind, so you’ll probably want to stay away from really difficult plants such as Fiddle Leaf Figs, and Rose Bushes, which can become work; defeating the purpose of your desktop garden, which is to relax you and calm your mind.
Installation
Install your grow light
So, as you probably already know, plants need light and warmth in order to grow and prosper. For this, you’ve got a few options. In the winter, you might need to provide a little extra light based on the plants requirements.
Most people aren’t so lucky as to have their desk right in front of a big bay window, you’ll need to install a grow light. Don’t worry; it couldn’t be any easier.
There are a ton of excellent desktop grow lights on the market that are designed specifically for desktop gardens. Most of these desktop grow lights have small, energy-efficient LED lights that give off cozy, warm shades of light that won’t give you any headaches or distract you from your work. All you need to do is position them a few inches above your garden, plug them in, and there you go.
Keep in mind that you don’t want your grow light to be too close to your plants. 3-5″ is a perfect distance.
Plant your nature babies
Next, you get to plant your garden. YAY! This is the part you’ve been waiting for. Again, there are a few options. You can buy plants that are already potted and just place them there on your desk, but where’s the fun in that?
You want to grow your plants yourself, to make the garden truly your own creation, and for that, you’ll need to position your planters, add your soil, and plant your seeds or cuttings. Hey – There’s nothing wrong with using cuttings. Bury them about one-third of the way down in the soil, add a little water, and position them so that they’ll get the “sunlight” above. That’s about it.
Remember to shut the lights off every twelve hours or so to simulate the natural light cycle of the sun. Otherwise, your plants might not grow properly. Most desktop grow lights will come with a built-in timer. But if not, then just remember to shut off the grow light every twelve hours, no biggie.
Growth and Time
Add a little water and some TLC
Now that your garden is there right in front of you, all you’ll need to do is water it every so often. If you use cacti or other succulents, then a little water once per week should do just fine. For other plants, a cup of water every few days will do the trick. That’s it! All that’s left to do is enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Relax and Enjoy
So, there you go, your desktop garden has appeared and is bringing you peace and happiness whenever you need it most. Feeling stressed? Got a headache? Are you exhausted from working all day? Take a break for a few minutes and spend a little time in your garden.