Because I live in an apartment, there's not much room for an outdoor garden. I have no yard, no flower bed, and my balcony/patio is not the best option when it comes to sunlight. So, I grow indoors.
Here's what I've learned you really need to be happy with your garden:
1. Mint
I drink a lot of tea. When I want to spice it up, I prefer lemon juice, honey, and mint. Usually, you can buy lemon juice and honey at the store, but unless mint comes in your tea already, it's hard to buy alone. So grow it instead. You can take the leaves whole right off the plant, pinch them a little to bring out the flavor and drop it right in your cup. You can also dry them out and wrap them in cheesecloth to soak the traditional tea way.
2. Good soil
Come wintertime, my plants were suffering a little. Even though they're indoors, the lack of sunlight from my skylight was not doing them well. My boyfriend bought us some quality soil and added it to our pots. Suddenly, my plants each grew at least an inch and looked more vibrant than ever. Your plants eat nutrients in the soil and when they are all used up, you need to change the dirt or add fertilizer. This helps especially when the sun is hiding away and your plants need more help.
3. Cute pots
Because why not? You're going to spend a lot of time looking at them, so they should look nice.
4. Cacti
Sometimes you're going to mess it all up -- especially if you're a new gardener and you have nothing close to a green thumb -- and when you do, your cacti plants will live through it. They stick around to cheer you up when all your other flowers and herbs have died. They're super hardy and if you manage to kill them, you've REALLY been neglectful.
5. Chives
These are super easy to grow, super easy to harvest and taste great in really anything you cook. You need to make sure to harvest them correctly (dry them out and hang them, etc.). The first time I tried this I didn't bother looking it up, and I spoiled the whole batch. Also, if you have a cat, be extra watchful of your chive plant. My cat always chewed on mine and the plant would die. Whoops!
6. Air plants
My boyfriend's family got me an air plant for Christmas last year. It's seriously the best. They hang in circular, airy glass "pots" and don't need a lot of love (although I give mine a lot). You only have to mist them once a week and keep them in mild sunlight for them to thrive.
7. Somewhere to put them
This might be a little obvious, but before I knew it I had a million plants stuck in all the little corners of our apartment. Watering them would have me running around the house, possibly forgetting the one that was kept out of sight, and it was a hot mess. Now we keep them all in one place -- our kitchen table. We never really eat at it anyway. So now, the table houses our garden (except for the air plant, which hangs by the window). This just makes life easier.
8. Plant saucers
These are those little circular trays that go under your pots. Outside potted plants can go without, but when you water a wee too much and mud pours out all over your table or wherever else you keep your plants, it becomes a problem. Warped tables are not cool.
9. A spray bottle
Not like the one that shoots across the room at your cat when it jumps up on the kitchen counters. Get a spray bottle that mists gently so that you don't hurt your plants. I used a spray bottle for my air plant, but also for the other ones when they get too hot and need to cool off.
10. Patience
It takes time for plants to grow! Don't expect giant, leafy things like you see online immediately. It takes patience and a little research for each different plant. Look up what the best conditions are: soil depth, sunlight, watering, special needs, etc. And talk to your plants! I promise it works. They need affection just like everything else.
