Top 10 ultimate indoor gardens for hardcore plant lovers
Gardening is an extremely therapeutic activity, and though I may not engage in it all the time, the few times that I have, I found it really delightful and soothing. Growing, tending to, and being surrounded by plants is intensely satisfying, all your worries slowly fade away, and you are simply enthralled by nature. Indoor gardening is a modern solution that works perfectly in our modern homes. From LG’s latest indoor gardening appliance that is 3 feet tall to a plant sensor that will help you get information about your plant babies – we have a myriad range of options when it comes to growing plants within the comfort of your home! These unique, innovative, and thoughtful designs promise to take care of all your indoor gardening needs. And I don’t know about you, but I’m really considering trying one of them out, I wouldn’t mind adding indoor gardening to my daily routine!
1. Paradise
Designed to reduce domestic waste, Paradise is an automated plant cultivator and compost bin that uses integrated technology to prompt users when the compost or plants need tending. Conceptualized as a rolling cart, Paradise is comprised of modular pieces that work together to provide optimal conditions for growing plants. Starting from its top, Paradise features an LED strip that pours artificial sunlight over integrated planters located on top of Paradise’s first module.
Why is it noteworthy?
While spending more time at home has brought some much-needed rejuvenation to our interior design, it has also contributed to a global increase in domestic waste. Inspired to change that, designer Robin Akira created Paradise, a household plant cultivator with integrated compost bins and an odor-sealing lid to make use of and reduce our domestic waste.
What we like
- Integrates greenery into our interior spaces
- An odor-sealing lid
What we dislike
- Could be messy to have such a design in our indoor living space
2. LG’s tiiun
Sure, a refrigerator can keep your veggies fresh… but LG’s tiiun can keep it fresher! Designed as a unique home appliance that lets you grow your own herbs and veggies the LG tiiun was announced in the run-up to CES 2022. The indoor gardening appliance is roughly the size of a dorm refrigerator, standing at approximately 3 feet tall, and features two shelves that can accommodate up to 6 all-in-one seed packages and various seed kits.
Why is it noteworthy?
The term tiiun comes from the Korean word meaning ‘to sprout’ and is LG’s way of indicating that this appliance is an all-in-one self-sufficient garden. The appliance creates a perfect microclimate and all the right conditions for the plants to grow, even mimicking light cycles so you could potentially keep your tiiun anywhere in a room without worrying about access to proper sunlight. LG’s Flexible Weather Control System creates the ideal situations for organic growth while also keeping pests at bay. An internal watering system also delivers water to the plants (8 times a day) to keep them hydrated. All you really have to do is install the tiiun and sit back while your plants grow on their own!
What we like
- A foolproof way to grow your own veggies and herbs in the comfort of your home
- Fun and simple even for those with no gardening experience
What we dislike
- The form is a bit too bulky for homes with space constraints
3. The LUA
The LUA is one ideal solution for those with pet plants. But, of course, not many people will understand why you have such but don’t worry about what they think.
Why is it noteworthy?
For desk plants, you may consider getting this LUA. It’s a plant lighting solution that can further make your favorite plant stand out. We understand how it can be challenging to care for indoor plants because of insufficient lighting. But there are solutions like the LUA. Indoor plants help the surrounding by keeping the atmosphere fresh and clean. In addition, for some people, plants help in providing emotional stability. Just one look at your plants and you can already calm down and destress.
What we like
- Boasts a clean, white tone for a simple and refreshing look
- The design is very minimalist as no unnecessary wires are exposed
What we dislike
4. The Ocean Sun
Designed to be more than just your average USB-powered work light, the Ocean Sun Plant Light, as its name quite aptly suggests, features a calibrated set of LEDs that emit light similar to the light from the sun. Made primarily for indoor plants that don’t receive too much natural light, the Ocean Sun Plant Light provides them with the right spectrum of light to enable photosynthesis and foster growth… and unlike the sun, it can fit in your palm.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Ocean Sun sports a sleek, compact design with a precisely machined aluminum outer shell and a series of flicker-free LEDs that draw power from a USB-C port located on the back of the device. Each lamp comes along with its own adjustable USB-C stand cable that lets you position and angle the lamp however you want, although the Ocean Sun works with any third-party cable too, giving you the freedom to hook it up to your laptop, a power bank, or even a set of solar panels with a USB output!
What we like
- Compact form that fits in your palm
- High-end flicker-free LEDs
What we dislike
- Not too sure how well plants would grow with this light
5. The Krado Plant Sensor
If something like the Krado Plant Sensor actually exists, then maybe my poor two plants had a better chance of survival. It’s the hardware component of the Leaflet Plant Care System, whose main purpose is to help people grow healthy plants. The sensor is something you put in the soil with your plants, and it will be able to transmit information to the mobile app so you will be able to adjust how you’re taking care of them.
Why is it noteworthy?
The plant sensor is able to monitor things like soil moisture, ambient temperature, humidity, and light. These are critical factors that will affect the health of your plants, and if you’re like me, that’s pretty clueless about these things, then it might give me helpful information. The app connected to it will also give you actionable guidance based on these factors like buying and shipping fertilizer, potting soil, pesticides, etc.
What we like
- Different colored lights may indicate specific conditions that will alert you
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What we dislike
6. Plant Light Nº1
Drawing the fine line between a functional piece of plant-growing hardware and an elegant tabletop lighting accessory, Plant Light Nº1 turns your interior space into an ideal set of conditions for growing plants.
Why is it noteworthy?
The light comes with a neo-industrial design aesthetic, and sports a surface to rest your planter on. Above it sits a height-adjustable lamp that comes equipped with full-spectrum LEDs that mimic the light quality (color), light intensity (brightness), and photoperiod (duration) of the sun, allowing any plant to grow indoors.
What we like
- Comes with a matrix of full-spectrum 90+ CRI LEDs that mimic the sun in a way that sets PL1 apart
- A built-in timer allows PL1 to intuitively switch on or off, providing the right duration of light for your plants
What we dislike
- It’s not available yet!
7. Jungle
Most commonly in homes across the world, indoor gardens are a form of biophilic design. Interpreting biophilia in a similar way, Jungle, designed by Poland-based KABO & PYDO design studio, is a planter that can hang from the ceiling and also function as a semi-flush mount light fixture.
Why is it noteworthy?
Comprised of only a few parts, the beauty of Jungle lies in the design’s simplicity. Defined by a bulbous, capsule-shaped centerpiece, Jungle is a half-planter and half-light fixture. The capsule-shaped planter emanates a warm, golden light that’s diffused with an opaque body. The opaque body softens the light and accentuates the plant life by offering an unassuming canvas for teeming greenery to drape across.
What we like
- The simple form emphasises the beauty of the plants
- The lamp emits a soft and soothing light
What we dislike
- You need to stand on a stool or a little ladder to water the plants
8. Flora
Molded from jesmonite, Flora features specks of color for a modern take on terrazzo, a form of composite material originating in 16th-century Italy. Conceived as a passion project during the lockdown, the designers at Préssec Design first made Floria from concrete casting. Once they achieved their desired look for Flora, they turned it up a notch and gave jesmonite a try.
Why is it noteworthy?
Over recent years, designers have created multifunctional WFH appliances by integrating elements like hidden storage units and organizers into appliances like chairs and desks to make the workday at home feel just as efficient as it feels in the office. Today, designers from Sydney-based Préssec Design have developed Flora, a wall garden system that combines a cork pinboard with hanging planters.
What we like
- Merges a work from home + wall garden design
What we dislike
- Planters could break or crack easily
9. CURA
CURA is an all-encompassing plant-growth apparatus that takes care of the light and water requirements for any plant. Its automated systems can be programmed to suit the light requirements for flowering plants, air-purifying plants, herbaceous plants, or decorative plants, and when CURA’s halo-shaped lamp isn’t nourishing your plant, it can be turned into an ambient light that adds a pop of color to your space!
Why is it noteworthy?
Available in 3 sizes and across floor-standing, tabletop, and wall-mounted varieties, CURA is a halo-shaped horticultural light that’s designed to activate and promote plant growth. Powered by OSRAM LEDs, the lamp can output different wavelengths of light that help create the right growth conditions for different types of plants. CURA comes with presets for Herbs & Greens, Flowers & Fruits, Germination, Indoor Garden Plants, and more, while also handling different stages in a plant’s growth cycle, from germination to flower and fruit-bearing stages.
What we like
- The lamp can either be programmed to work automatically or can be configured using CURA’s smartphone app, allowing you to effectively play horticulturist with your indoor plants
- The lamp in Ambient Mode can also be configured to dynamically respond to music
What we dislike
10. The 4RESTPLANT
Rather aptly named the 4RESTPLANT (pronounced Forest Plant), this quirky little planter comes made from a porous clay, in the shape of a tree trunk – a design detail that makes immediate sense when you realize how the planter functions. Unlike traditional planters that act simply as vessels for soil and the plant, the 4RESTPLANT works quite like how nature does.
Why is it noteworthy?
Plants find their own surfaces to grow on, often clinging to a host plant like the root or stump of a tree for structure and support, while relying on the soil that’s already been aerated/loosened by the tree’s massive roots. The 4RESTPLANT works in a similar fashion – the tree-shaped planter comes with a hollow design that holds water on the inside (with a nano-silver coating to prevent the water from blooming) and features four ‘seed pads’ that are arranged on the outside, around the base of the planter. The planter’s porous design ends up wicking water outside to the seed pads, allowing them to grow by holding onto the trunk’s rough surface for structure. This basically recreates what happens in nature on a smaller scale, creating a planter that literally brings a slice of the beautiful outdoors into your home!
What we like
- Grows microgreens and other small ferns and plants in your home with little to no effort
- Basically recreates how plants grow in nature
What we dislike
- There are similar designs on the market