Growing 500 Species of Plants at Home on Smoggy Days, Creating an Indoor Mini Forest

We long to create a garden of our own,

but because we live in steel-and-concrete high-rises,

without the right time, place and conditions for growing flowers and plants,

we have no choice but to give up.

Or we put it off, saying that someday when we quit our jobs and return to the countryside...

Actually, if you don't give it a try,

you will never know that your pastoral dream

can be right within reach.

Herb

 Blanch, Cupich, Nandayapa Trío

Israel Cupich 

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A young woman living in Brooklyn, New York

Summer RayneOakes

started by moving in a 1-meter-tall fiddle-leaf fig

and turned her originally lifeless apartment with no balcony

into a lush little forest.

The entrance

Now this fiddle-leaf fig has grown all the way to the ceiling

Oakes has lived here for 11 years,

In an apartment of more than 110 sq m,

she has actually planted more than 500 species of plants,

from ornamental plants to edible plants,

including not only native medicinal herbs and leafy green plants,

but also some exotic ones, such as pineapple, curry leaf and so on,

presenting a grandeur that only a country villa could achieve.

Actually, growing flowers and plants in an apartment is no easy task,

lacking enough space, soil, and especially enough light,

all of which greatly limit the types of plants that can be grown.

But fortunately Oakes' apartment has windows on both the north and south sides,

and she is very good at making reasonable use of space,

filling every nook and corner with plants of different growing conditions.

Sun-loving plants such as ivy,

were planted by Oakes by the window with plenty of light,

she built miniature glass greenhouses one after another,

to increase humidity and temperature.

In the bedroom, Oakes created an entire plant wall,

she also designed an underground irrigation system

directly connected to the sink,

so the plants on the wall can draw water from below,

saving a lot of manpower.

The plant wall in the bedroom is filled with all kinds of green plants

Oakes gave names to the different planting areas of the apartment:

Glass jar garden, herb garden, greenhouse garden, vegetable and fruit garden...

And these, built from plywood and rope,

she calls the "sky garden."

Even the bathroom

was arranged by Oakes into a succulent garden,

paired with some shade-loving plants that do not need much light.

A mini succulent garden on the toilet tank

Besides growing herb plants in glass jars,

Oakes has used almost all

the suitably sized containers in her home for growing flowers and plants

even these recyclable tea tins are no exception.

To take care of such a forest apartment

really takes a lot of energy and thought,

just watering alone takes Oakes more than half an hour every day,

and every week she also spends at least an hour and a half

on maintenance work such as composting, repotting and pruning branches,

But don't think Oakes is just a young lady

with nothing to do at home, growing some flowers and plants to pass the time.

She is actually a fashion model busy to the point of flying,

shooting editorials for magazines, attending fashion weeks, giving interviews...

Even though her schedule is packed every day,

she still insists on tending the plants with her own hands,

she very much enjoys the time spent with these quiet plants,

which allows her to return to herself, meditate and think.

"I think the only way I can survive in New York

is to surround myself with plants."

Perhaps you may wonder,

why Oakes, as a model, loves plants so much?

It turns out she grew up on a large farm in the northern suburbs of Pennsylvania,

the beautiful times of her childhood gave her a deep longing for farming and gardening,

and she loves the freedom that nature brings her.

Oakes has been very concerned about environmental issues since childhood,

she majored in environmental science and entomology at Cornell University as an undergraduate,

and even published many high-quality papers,

she also planned to go down the path of becoming a natural scientist.

However, she found that papers on environmental issues

could only be noticed by a small portion of the academic world,

which was different from what she had expected,

she wanted to help more people build a connection with nature.

Oakes shooting a public-interest environmental promo in the studio

So, with her good looks, she chose to become a model,

but not an ordinary model,

she is the first naturalist-style model (Eco-Model),

endorsing only clothing made with organic fabrics,

taking part in the production of nature documentaries,

shooting environmental-themed advertisements,

and often speaking up for nature in public...

Oakes is recording a Discovery TV program

She very actively builds a bridge between fashion and environmental protection:

she wrote the book "Style, Naturally",

teaching people to learn to live in a sustainable way,

and live a stylish and decent life;

she established

the "foodstand" App,

allowing residents of various communities to conveniently buy organic and healthy ingredients;

In many environmental organizations, such as the Rainforest Action Network,

Gaia Amazon, Mezimbite Forest Center and others,

she also has an active presence.

Oakes has truly taken her

love for nature to the extreme,

and lived the green life she wanted:

not only living every day in a little forest she built with her own hands,

but also using her wisdom and ability,

in all kinds of ways,

to bring people closer to nature.

If you don't give it a try,

you will never know that your pastoral dream

can be right within reach.

LOVE. Soilless Farm

Soilless Farm Shengguo Ju Mall

Discover the beauty of growing flowers