Smart Solutions to Plant Placement

I started my plant collection with just a couple little pots on a table next to my window.  Over the years, I have had to adapt to my tight quarters and my wild cats’ desperate attempts to sabotage any greenery indoors.

Smart solutions to plant placement is key: think brackets, shelves, plant stands, hooks and hangers.

My first addition was my great grandmother’s metal plant stand (brassy metal object above on the left).  It put my plants above grazing height  for the kitties and  gave the plants a bit more of a presence.  The other strange box is an “ozone air purifier” which I don’t use except to hold my spider plant and peperomia.   I could imagine a plant stand made from old cake stands, small wooden boxes, upside down terra cotta pots — anything really!

My next venture was up the side of the window along the frame.  Adding brackets and a macrame hanger or two and I had a whole new level, literally, of plants.

Utilize your local hardware store’s bracket section or surf the web to see what’s available.

This is under $6.00 at Ace Hardware, and it’s brass and it swivels!

With the brackets in place, a good plant hanger can be purchased or crafted.  My first hanger was macrame from what looked like the ’70s.  It’s actually pretty great and it’s mostly hidden by my full plant so I hardly notice it.

The beautiful red glass bowl and chain (above) came from a local thrift store — in a set of two!  It is perfect for my succulent plants that don’t need much water or drainage.

Make your own if you can’t find what you like.  Use bowls with heavy lips, rig up a light chain around the underside of the rim, and add three long arms to reach up to the bracket, and you have yourself a homemade plant holder!   Or try punching an old tin can or soup can in three spots along the top lip, attach the three strands of chain, and hang on your bracket.

All this blogging is getting me excited to create some new planters!

I would love to see what you guys come up with — garden on!

Melissa Bateson is a small town farming girl making her statement in New York City as an urban gardener.  Creating lush rooftops in Manhattan or planting quiet nooks in Brooklyn, this garden maven has been inspiring New Yorkers to become more involved with the plant kingdom for almost a decade.