I found my love for plants and gardening during COVID lockdown in my last year of college. One of my roommates had a large pothos plant that she wanted to cut back to encourage more growth and propagating is perfect with pothos cuttings. She cut them down for me and we placed them into mason jars filled with water. Over the next couple weeks it was incredible to see how fast they began to grow. I started making a pinterest board of all the different kinds of plants I wanted to start collecting and learned which ones were super low maintenance and what it was like to care for a more dramatic plant too.

When I moved up to Michigan in 2021, I had tons of cuttings and smaller succulent plants and let me tell you, transporting as many plants as I had was quite the process. Eventually, most of those succulents died off and the cuttings began to wilt. I was a beginner, it’s okay that they don’t always work out.

One day, I was shopping at Target in Marquette, MI and I found a Monstera (these are one of my favs). I still have it today and it is more than twice the size from when I bought it (here’s a pic). Of course, I’ve changed the pot to encourage more growth and it was doing incredibly well at my house in Iron River. My living room windows took up pretty much the whole south facing wall and SHE. WAS. THRIVING. 

Michigan Dreams

My Michigan house had a little bit of a yard, a whole extra lot next to it, and I was so excited to plan a big cozy space to spend time outside in the summers following. The yard had so much potential. I dreamt of having a wooden-fenced yard with string lights and stone walking paths that would snake around abundant and thriving garden beds and a welcoming fire pit area too where my guests could’ve relaxed, roasted s’mores, and enjoyed everyone’s company. There was one thing holding me back, I waited and waited for the perfect time to have the time, the money, and the resources to make my dream a reality– and, it never came to fruition. I sold the house last year with a vacant yard untouched by my imagination, only the brick firepit that was there when I bought the house and a pile of firewood from a fallen tree during my time there.

First Year of Gardening

In 2024, when I was deciding where my new home was going to be back in Wisconsin, I spent a lot of time considering what I wanted and where I wanted to be. When I saw this apartment, I knew that the covered balcony would be perfect for sitting outside during most weather conditions, but more importantly, the balcony is south facing meaning that my plants will get the best sunlight I can give them for an apartment balcony garden, just like my Monstera in my little yellow living room in Michigan. 

Gardening is all about trial and error. Some things work well given their environment and care, while others don’t. I decided to take a leap and actually START, even with something smaller than what my imagination had come up with for the small space, compared to my Michigan yard. I spent some time in the gardening sections at Stein’s, strolling through the aisles as the gardening season began approaching. I researched online- herbs, cut flowers, container gardening, you name it, you can probably find it in my search history. 

Through my research I had discovered cut flower gardens and decided on a few varieties like zinnias, cosmos, poppies, and daisies. I’m a HUGE fan of daisies and cosmos and have always loved them. I found some pre-sprouted zinnias and got a couple color options along with some seed packets for the rest. I potted the zinnias in a couple of pots that I had picked up and prepped the rest of the seeds inside in some egg cartons I was saving. 

I also knew that I wanted to grow some herbs; I have had indoor herb garden ideas in the back of my mind for a handful of years. There’s just something special about picking some fresh herbs to use for the meal you’re about to create and enjoy. While I was up north, I did try growing some herbs from seed in some small 5” pots, but never really prioritized their care. Last year, I bought herb plants pre-sprouted and they all looked so perfect in their little pots next to each other- dill, oregano, basil, thyme, mint, lavender, rosemary, cilantro, and chives. They actually did fairly well at the beginning of summer until I spent a weekend out of town in the middle of July, AND IT WAS HOT that weekend. I came back home to fried and dried plants and couldn’t bring them back to life. 

Curiosity + Intention

This year I want to prioritize big pots of herbs, a few cut flowers, and MAYBE a handful of fresh produce. I want to learn how to prune what I’m growing to promote new growth so I can continually use them in my kitchen- herbs and produce, and display the cut flowers in my home too. 

I’ve had a mind full of ideas on how to go about having cut flowers on my balcony and I’m thinking the best way to do it is to pick up some planters that are long and narrow and kind of do a “chaos garden” with all of the seeds mixed together. Some of the flowers I’m thinking about trying this year are zinnias, daisies, cosmos, dahlias, ranunculus, snapdragons, sweet peas, and yarrow. 

One thing that held me back the most with all of my herbs last summer was being afraid of the plants not growing back after pruning them. Some ways that I’m going to alleviate that this year is that I’m going to spend some time researching the best methods for pruning to promote growth so I can still use my herbs as well as bulk up with them a little bit more this year. I’m thinking of bigger pots with more plants for each. This will also fill out more of the space that I have and truly make it feel like an oasis. 

Using Each Herb:

Dill: Pickling veggies, fresh vegetable dips, and dressings.  

Oregano: Sauces, homemade pizza.

Basil: Cocktails, fresh pesto, sauces, sandwiches, salads. 

Thyme: Cooking meat, making brines. 

Mint: Cocktails, teas, coffee syrups

Rosemary: Cooking meat, cocktails. 

Cilantro: Tacos!

Chives: Garnishing to elevate

Lavender: Teas, coffee syrups, desserts

Chamomile: Teas, coffee syrups, desserts

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to gather flowers, herbs, and some produce to give away as gifts to my friends and family throughout the summer too. 

New Addition

The biggest thing that I want to try this year is A LEMON TREE. Yes, it might sound ABSURD, but I was at a friend’s parents house for lunch one day and her step-mom asked her son to go grab a couple lemons and he WALKED into a bedroom and came out with lemons in his hands. My jaw was on the floor. She said that she got the tree from Home Depot and she leaves it outside in the summer time, and brings it back inside during the colder months. So that is definitely something unique that I want to add, I also constantly buy lemons for desserts and cocktails and I do want to attempt making limoncello this year too. 

Your Own Successes + Lessons

I want to hear from you! What have you been successful with, or maybe not so much, growing in your gardens or indoors? AND what is something that you are REALLY looking forward to trying but maybe are intimidated by?