You can’t go out and enjoy the green nature yet, but you sure can transform your balcony or home garden into a green space. This summer of 2021, pledge to a green summer. Or maybe just revamp your home to create a fresher and cleaner environment. Upgrading for starting your own home garden can be extremely easy and useful. Don’t throw away your veggie waste. Be mindful and try to grow the vegetables using the seeds. You can also propagate a broken or cut stem into a fully blooming plant. Summers in India are a little hot and sticky, depending on the area. Hence it is important to grow summer plants and summer vegetables that can thrive in the environment.
10 Summer Plants That You Must Add To Your Home Garden
1. Aloe Vera
Aloe is the best summer plant you could ask for, as it serves as a medicinal plant against sunburns. They are great summer plants for pots. Aloe Vera is a popular plant as it purifies the air and helps suck impurities from the air. It is a non-fuss plant that does not need a lot of sun or water. In fact, overwatering might kill the plant. It is also a desi woman’s go-to for skin and hair woes. Best to keep an aloe plant near a sunny windowsill, and allow the plant to settle into the soil when repotting.
2. Succulents And Cactus
Succulents and cacti are very simple yet aesthetic plants. They thrive in dry climates and do not require a lot of maintenance. You can water them once in 2-3 days, depending on the type of plant. Ensure the plant is not overwatered as it could kill the plant. Check the top layer of soil, if dry then you can water. There are many different types of succulent plants and cacti in different colours and shapes. They are summer plants that would survive the hottest summers.
3. Money Plant
A money plant is also known as a good luck plant, as it is said to bring in money. This plant is a staple house plant to grow as it is simple to maintain. They grow easily in water as well as mud. They are climbers and can grow depending on the space provided. Mostly money plants are kept in water bowls to ensure strong root growth. And later transferred into the soil. This is the perfect summer plant for pots as you can grow them near a window or balcony. And have beautiful creepers grow around the windowsill. Learn how to make compost in simple and easy ways here.
4. Calathea
A minimal and beginner-friendly summer plant, Calatheas are sure to bring colour to your house. This is a summer-flowering plant for pots with uniquely coloured leaves. They don’t even need trimming! They produce a bright orange coloured flower but only when grown in the wild. But even without the flowers, the bright leaves make up for it.
5. Peace Lily
Peace lilies are elegant plants that can turn your home garden into a beautiful flowering area. The dark long green leaves and glowing white snake-like flowers are the perfect addition to your summer flowering plants collection. Peace lilies thrive in low to moderate light conditions and do not need to be watered a lot. They are the perfect summer flowering plants for pots. Although if you have a pollen allergy, you might have to avoid them.
6. Abutilon Flowering Maple
A perfect summer flowering plant that has the perfect colours of summer is the Abutilon flowering maple. This plant will need a little more care than the others. A regular trim and avoiding over-watering is the key. This plant can be placed in the sun with a little shade and need proper drainage. Keep in mind that you must avoid moving an Abutilon Flowering Plant, as could shed heavily.
7. String Of Pearls
The string of pearls is truly as the name suggests, a string of beautiful green pearls. It is a part of the succulent family and produces white flowers. Although drought-tolerant, they can die due to overwatering. Maintain a proper drainage space. Keep these summer flowering plants near an open space, avoiding direct sunlight. Keep away from children and pets as consumption may be toxic.
8. Green Chillies
If you are looking for vegetables to grow in summer then green chillies should be on the top of your list. Green chillies are important in every Indian dish, so growing them is extremely beneficial. Green chillies are not only one of the easiest summer vegetables to grow but also a flowering plant. They produce bright yellow flowers before growing into the vegetable. These summer vegetables can be grown using your spoilt chillies or chilli seeds. Just throw them into a pot, and cover them with mud and water as usual. You’ll have your chillies within weeks!
9. Cucumbers
What’s better than growing summer vegetables during the summer season? Growing summer vegetables that are extra delicious during the summer season! And it is the cucumber vegetable. Cucumbers have high water content hence they are the best summer vegetables to grow. When growing cucumbers make sure to have a wide pot and well guarded against insects, pests and birds. The seeds can be sown directly into the soil and will start fruiting after 2-3 months of planting.
10. Tomatoes
Chillies and cucumber are perfect additions to summer garden plants, they’d pair well as a summer salad. But adding a bit more freshness to the lot is juicy ripe tomatoes. These summer vegetables are also easy to grow, not only good plants to grow in summer but all year round. Tomato plants thrive under sunshine and grow quickly, although they need a little support. The old drawback is that they attract pests and need to be looked after.
Beginners Guide To Gardening
Gardening is not just watering your plant and hoping for the best. Although that’s the route most take, gardening requires a lot of patience, caring and love. It can be daunting when you begin, but eventually, the excitement will set in. Especially when your brown patch of soil sprouts a beautiful plant that flowers or bears fruit. To make that happen, here are a few beginner tips you can get started with.
- Always pick the plant and area to plant as per the plant requirements. New plant parents often buy the plant forgetting its needs (sunlight, water, and correlating to the space available).
- Work on your soil before planting. Soft and nutrient-rich soil is more likely to nourish your plant than dry stony soil. Nourish your soil with good compost.
- Always use gardening tools. When deciding to garden, invest in basic gardening tools like pruning scissors, a spade and a garden fork. They work better than using hands.
- Start with beginner-friendly plants, so it is easier to maintain before moving to difficult plants.
Key Points When Taking Care Of Plants
To make sure that your home garden remains fresh, green and clean, follow these steps.
- Understand each plant and its requirements. Don’t overheat them with excess sunlight, especially during the afternoon sun. Place them strategically as per their sunlight requirements. Even summer plants don’t need harsh sunlight.
- Have a good drainage system. Plant your plants in pots that can drain the excess water, so the roots don’t rot. When selecting a pot, ensure there are drainage holes. Layer pebbles in the bottom of the pot. From time to time keep checking the drainage holes so that they don’t remain blocked.
- Ask your nursery-wale bhaiya about the plant requirements regarding water. One of the main reasons for plant deaths is overwatering.
- Fertilise and use good compost to pamper your plants. Just watering and sunlight are not the only things that keep your plant blooming. Buy compost or fertiliser that keeps pests away. You can also make your own compost at home.
