No Yard? No Problem! Windowsill Gardening for Seniors

No matter if you’ve got a green thumb or you’re just beginning to learn about gardening, these windowsill garden ideas can help get you started.
 

Flower Garden
Maintenance: Medium
Sunlight: Varies based on the species

If the word “garden” makes you think of lush scenery with bold, vibrant petals in colors of every shade, then a windowsill filled with flowers might be the right choice for you.

Flowers that thrive indoors include African violets, hyacinths, daffodils and geraniums. To maximize your garden space, you can also plant small flowers that have large blooms, like pansies or snapdragons. You could even give your home a natural air freshener with a window box full of fragrant varieties like jasmine or lavender.

Just keep in mind that if you want colorful blossoms year-round, you’ll need to consider switching out your plants every few months since different plants have different blooming seasons.

Herb Garden
Maintenance: Easy
Sunlight: 4+ hours per day

Calling all home chefs! If you love to cook but don’t love the fuss of gardening, we’ve got good news. Growing an herb garden on your windowsill can be surprisingly easy.

Try to group plants with similar watering and sunlight needs in the same container. Oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, mint and chives are happy in drier conditions. Meanwhile, parsley, basil and cilantro prefer more moist soil. To avoid overcrowding, plant no more than four herbs in one 24” x 6” box.

Succulent Garden
Maintenance: Easy
Sunlight: 2-6 hours per day

Don’t have a green thumb? With a succulent garden, that’s no problem. These desert natives are famously easy to care for and can thrive in an indoor setting.

A window that gets plenty of light and warmth is ideal for most cacti and succulents, including the pincushion cactus, bunny ears cactus, echeveria and snake plants. If you’re looking for a plant that’s even more low maintenance, an air plant may be the way to go — even soil isn’t necessary.

Don’t fret if your window doesn’t receive much sunlight — you can still grow succulents. Burro’s tail, holiday cacti and haworthia are just a few examples of succulents that can grow in low-light settings.

Vegetable Garden
Maintenance: Difficult
Sunlight: 6+ hours per day

A vegetable garden takes the most effort of all the windowsill garden options covered here, but if you’re successful, you can reap the reward of fresh, home-grown produce. 

Which vegetables you may grow will depend on how much light and space you have on your windowsill. Radishes and carrots are two root vegetables that can thrive in window containers, enjoy consistently moist soil and produce two edible components: the root and the leafy greens.

If your windowsill is sunny, tomatoes , chili peppers and bell peppers may find themselves right at home. On the other hand, spinach, arugula, lettuce and other leafy greens can grow nicely with just two to three hours of sunlight per day.     

No matter which veggies you choose to grow, be sure to water and fertilize them regularly.

If you have a successful veggie harvest, check out how you can incorporate them into a Mediterranean diet. This diet can be associated with multiple health benefits, including lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and obesity.