The garden is many homeowners’ safe haven. It’s where they detach, destress, and make time for their favorite hobby: gardening. However, it’s not just about seeing plants thrive or growing your own food but also about feeling the ground, the soil, and the positive vibes they transmit.
Whether waking up to the beauty of indoor flowers and plants or taking a walk in the outdoor garden, there are some differences between the two types of gardens.
Keep reading to see how different aspects, like soil and temperature, can improve your loved plants’ overall appearance and life.
Indoor gardening
Indoor gardens are becoming increasingly popular among urban families, especially since they’re linked to growing their own food. For obvious reasons, the convenience of growing fresh herbs, greens, tomatoes, etc. just feet away and ready to enjoy or cook is a perk for any individual.
As for flowers and plants, they not only enhance the ambiance and appeal of an indoor space but also boost creativity and improve mood.
During the winter, tending to the greenery’s requirements during their budding process is better indoors than out. But there are also things to consider when planting outdoors, like the space requirements or pots you use.
One of the most common reasons people like growing plants indoors is for aesthetic reasons. Besides looking amazing, the internet abounds with pictures of shrubs and tips on caring for them. For example, elho offers must-haves that a gardener needs: planters, pots, and valuable advice on how to grow amazing plants.
Wouldn’t it be sad to love plants and not grow them for silly reasons, like space?
Space necessity
For starters, an aerated planting mixture, pots, and containers are paramount necessities. It can be challenging to live in an urban area and create space for a gardening landscape, so indoor gardening seems to be a better, more logical option.
Inside, your home can accommodate various greeneries, but you must be mindful of your space and the potential outcome. There are some considerations for plants and flowers, depending on their species, which you must take into account to offer them the proper environment to thrive.
For instance, geraniums or purple hearts would flourish on a windowsill where the light shines on them for hours. On the other hand, plants like oxalis and African violets thrive in a more diffused light environment.
Pest control
Keeping pests at bay indoors can be low maintenance. You must keep small animals and insects away in an outside garden by spraying chemicals. In an indoor garden, on the other hand, you have to maintain the proper lighting, good air circulation, and water.
Additionally, you can spray your plants with a non-toxic treatment like distilled water and liquid soap, or pick the pests out of the blossoms. This way, your indoor plants will thrive without being eaten away.
Climate control
Although nature indeed knows best, it can also be unpredictable sometimes. Outside gardens need a healthy mix of sunlight and water to thrive, but what happens on cold, cloudy, and rainy days?
When you keep the plants indoors, you manage the water, nutrients, and light your greeneries receive regularly.
Outdoor gardening
Outdoor gardening differs from indoor gardening. Planting indoors allows for greater control of many factors, like the following:
- Nutrient composition
- Soil quality
- Light
- Water.
Taking care of flora outdoors is more like a dance between them, you, and nature taking the lead. You have little influence over what you plant, so the more exciting the surprise is when you see the results. Because you can only make little adjustments, like the location, space of your garden, quality of the soil, and size of their recipients, outdoor gardening is a delightful, action-packed hobby.
Space requirements
Since you likely have plenty of space for your greeneries, consider their space requirements. Some plants thrive in large outdoor planters, while others need small ones. If you have a garden, why not make the most out of it by hanging planters instead of leaving important space empty? And if you’re tired of wiping soil from your patio, get a pot with a matching saucer or one that allows excess water to drain from the hollow legs through a hole.
Since you love plants, you’re likely an environmentally friendly person who’d rejoice over pots created through sustainable practices. See if you can endorse nature more than just by nurturing it inside your home area.
Pest control
There are more pest control methods, each working for every specific issue. Here are three examples:
Aphids. These look tiny and pear-shaped and can be white, black, yellow, or red, either wingless or winged. Fruit trees are among the most popular for aphids, and a powerful hose spray or insecticidal soap typically knocks them off. Remember that any strategy employed to manage or eradicate the aphids will impact the plants.
Flea beetles. These can be gray or black, typically appear in spring and early summer, and hop away like a cricket or flea when disturbed. You can protect your plants by using pesticides labeled for flea beetle control but read the label carefully to use it properly. Typically, healthy plants aren’t knocked off by beetles, so you don’t have to stress much about them.
Worms and caterpillars. Since they’re the baby butterflies you love seeing in your garden, you can’t kill them. However, you can prevent moths from laying their eggs by using floating row covers over greeneries or using biological insecticide (which is harmless for animals, adult insects and people) for cabbage, broccoli, and other crops.
Climate control
The weather has a huge impact on your garden ecosystem. Watering your plants regularly and adding compost to improve soil quality are healthy ways to keep your greenery’s climate healthy.
A cover that protects the plants from snow and rain is helpful, so make sure you have one at home. A cold frame works too. This way, you’ll reduce the time and effort you’d otherwise spend trying to revive your beloved flowers and plants.
All in all, regarding outdoor vs. indoor gardening, the choice comes down to your preferences and how much time and space you have. In any case, both hobbies are excellent, healthy alternatives that one can only encourage you to enjoy.