When deciding how I would decorate my dorm room, I couldn’t come up with any ideas or themes. All I knew was that I wanted plants. I love everything about plants. They can do a lot to make a white-walled, industrial-style, carpeted room 700 miles from home feel homey. Plants can also help keep moisture in the air and reduce the need for a humidifier as we enter the dry, winter months. They’re also really fun to grow!

I knew I wanted plants in my dorm room, but I didn’t plan for the specific conditions of a dorm room. Unfortunately, the problem was that some plants did not make it. What did survive in my dorm room were the bamboo plant, dried lavender (duh), and the polka dot plant. What did not survive were my three lovely succulents. While succulents do not require a lot of water, my room doesn’t provide quite enough sunlight. You may have hypothesized that a succulent would not do so well in the dark corners of a dorm room in Pennsylvania. I was not as intuitive. So, to spare you the sad, slow, death of lovely plants, here are a few ideas of small plants that would be a great addition to your room.

Ferns:

Most ferns do well in low-light rooms. I love the lemon button fern.

Air plants:

These plants don’t even need soil. They get all their nutrients from, you guessed it, the air! Who knew plants could be so cool?

Aloe Vera:

Many plants have double, or triple benefits, and aloe vera is one of them. In addition to adding moisture to the air and purifying it, aloe vera gel has numerous uses as a topical treatment.

African Violet:

If you’re a fan of flowering plants, the African Violet is a great option.

ZZ plant:

Offers a modern, stylish option.

Lucky Bamboo:

What’s lucky about it? It combines all five elements of Feng Shui. Read more about it here.

Polka Dot Plant:

My personal favorite. It’s fun to watch the pink dots emerge on the green leaves within just a few days. If you forget to water it for a week, like me, it’s pretty easy to revive with a little water.

Most of these plants can be used for a terrarium -- a really cute and self-containing way to cultivate plants in a dorm room. Here is a link for how to make your own terrarium. Excited about getting plants but don’t know where to find them? Stop by the farmer’s market at Project SHARE on 5 N. Orange St. on Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m. to pick up some of these plants and some yummy foods.