by Cynthia Philp –
As a gardener, I love spring, and my impatience with the weather grows as the dismal days of winter drag on. To keep my sanity, I begin gardening indoors – just tiny projects, designed to fit on a windowsill and bring me joy every time I pass. Windowsill gardens are a beautiful way to surround myself with emerald bits of hope.
The biggest challenge of windowsill gardening is finding the right container that will sit securely on a small ledge. I now look at glassware in an entirely new way. Farmers markets are an excellent hunting ground, as vendors often sell samples of their delights in glassware with a small footprint. Potters too may have jewel-like creations that will do the job. A friend of mine repurposed shot glasses collected as souvenirs from her travels around the world and enjoyed a window ledge filled with memories of exotic locations.
The container you choose will guide what types of planting you can grow. Containers with narrow openings are best suited for rooting cuttings, while wider-mouthed vessels can hold a bit of potting mix, ideal for drought-tolerant succulents.
Cuttings. My favourite windowsill garden is a row of stems taking root, and I’ve made many gardening friends just by asking for a cutting of one of their beautiful plants.
Geraniums, ivies, philodendron, pothos and many others will do well if you submerge a small stem in water. A few leaves above the water line and a node below will send out fine white tendrils after a few weeks in a bright window. These are water roots, and I wait until the plant has generated enough of these filaments to support itself out of the water. A geranium slip I cut on December 19 had a thick mesh of a dozen of these rootlets by January 18 – more then enough to support itself in potting soil. Not all cuttings will take root – change the water if it becomes murky and pull out any stems that have decided to rot, rather than root.
Once the cuttings have sent out enough of these tendrils, they can be planted in potting soil. Keep the mix damp, as the plant at this point is supported only by its delicate water roots. Over time, the cutting will establish itself with soil roots and then behave exactly like the parent plant.
Succulents. Succulents root incredibly well in a tiny bit of potting mix. A four-inch pot of sempervivum such as the familiar Hens and Chicks from the garden centre can often be found bursting with “chicks” that will take root if they are gently pulled off the mother plant and tucked into a damp potting mix. The trick with these types of plants is to not give them the opportunity to rot – a damp potting mix in a cool room may spell disaster.
With a little experimenting, I can find what plant does well in each room of my home. I’ve had great success with a cyclamen corm in the north-facing window of a cool room.
These tiny gardens bring me joy through the winter, as I watch and cheer on their determined path of growth. I make sure to give away or plant out almost all my cuttings over the summer, just to free up space on my windowsill for my next tiny garden adventure.
