A winter garden in an apartment is a way to create comfort in a relatively small space at any time of the year. To do this, use vegetation in pots or even organize a place for a kind of flower bed. This approach will create a relaxed atmosphere, improve the climate around and relax after a hard day.
The winter garden helps get rid of depression, promotes a good mood and normalizes the nervous system
Features of using a winter garden in an apartment
A “green” greenhouse in an apartment requires certain costs to create and maintain, so just coming up with an idea is not enough, you will need to put in a little more effort. It is necessary to think over the place and conditions for creating this beauty, and also select those plants that will not harm or become allergens.
By caring for your winter garden, you will always be in a great mood, and the air in the apartment will be saturated with oxygen ions
Even if the prospective residents have not previously noticed signs of an allergic reaction, it may suddenly manifest itself. Or guests with a predisposition will notice this, which will negatively affect their well-being.
This idea is not particularly popular, since few people decide to have a whole green corner in the apartment, but only a few flowerpots, sometimes even without them. After all, this is a big responsibility - care, watering, checking on a regular basis. But the modern pace of life of most people does not allow such luxury; not everyone is at home or free for so often and for a long time, due to hassle.
The winter garden must be created in a well-lit place, away from drafts and air conditioning.
If desired, the garden can be made in poor lighting conditions, but a more careful selection of plants will be required
And despite all the difficulties, deciding to make a winter garden in an apartment, as in the photo from the cover of a magazine about successful interiors, has many advantages. This can become a place of strength for those people who regularly experience serious psychological and physical stress. Many people like to put a cage with a canary or a beautiful aquarium there.
Plants, like children, require care and attention, so when planning your garden, consider how much time you can devote to it.
Practice shows that, if desired, you can get out of the situation by investing additional funds. For example, a solution to the issue of regular watering can be the installation of an automatic or other device that supplies water in the required dose. At the same time, owners can replenish supplies in the main container at a convenient time. And the problem of proper care can be solved by simply hiring a specialist, he will come, wipe the leaves, check if everything is in order, and leave, taking a relatively small amount.
How to arrange a greenhouse
Home conservatories can replace gazebos and become free-standing living rooms. In design you can use not only plants, but also small architectural forms, miniature ponds, mini-fountains, artificial waterfalls and streams.
Dendroplane and arrangement of the work area
The layout of a greenhouse begins with drawing up a planting plan - even before construction begins, it is important to determine which plants will be grown in order to create ideal growing conditions for them. It is important to understand that the proximity of some crops may be problematic and will require more investment in the project. It is equally important to take care of the ease of maintenance of flower beds and beds, otherwise it will simply be impossible to approach the plants freely.
Mini fountain decorates and creates additional humidity
For small greenhouses, vertical beds arranged in several tiers are ideal. For this purpose, pallets and racks made of moisture-resistant materials are used. You can complement the picture with hanging pots with hanging crops.
The greenhouse should not be cluttered with plants; first of all, it should be a place of relaxation, in which green spaces are present for beauty, and not for practical purposes.
Choosing the right location and necessary conditions for a winter garden
The flower corner in the apartment should have a specially designated place where animals who can spoil it will not have access to it, as well as a climate that negatively affects the condition of the plants. Therefore, placement is a strategically important decision when planning a winter garden. “Greenery” requires a competent approach to the conditions, because many indoor exotic and local flowers and trees require special conditions.
The best natural light in the winter garden will be on the south side of the house
If possible, you need to expand the windows or even make panoramic glazing
If there is a lack of natural light, artificial lighting should be considered
The most important aspects when choosing the location of a home flower garden:
- As much daylight as possible. Obviously, this is difficult to achieve in an apartment, however, often a balcony can be the best solution. Or, artificial and uninterrupted lighting is often provided, simulating sunlight.
- Depending on the plants you choose, you need to maintain the right level of humidity and temperature. Air parameters affect the development and appearance of flowers, so it is worth selecting them so that they require approximately the same conditions. Or at least it was technically possible to combine it.
- Consider providing ventilation.
- You need to create the effect of a separate zone for your flowers to make it easier to maintain conditions without fear of the influence of external circumstances. This is true in winter, when batteries dry the air, and sometimes the temperature drops below the permissible level for plants. Here is the factor of frosty drafts.
The rules for ensuring optimal conditions include competent and professional care of the “green corner”. This is especially true for those indoor plants that are rare or whimsical and require the hands and knowledge of a specialist.
A shady corner of the room can be decorated with ferns suspended in flowerpots
Roof installation
For the roof, Alexander chose 25 mm fine-cell polycarbonate with a cross structure.
Alexander 0605
“It is important for me to reduce heat loss through the roof. That's why I chose 25mm. I thought 16mm would not be enough in my case. And so, they put 32mm. The light transmission of 25mm SPC is sufficient for plants.”
True, some users doubted the choice of material.
Seryoga 567
“I’m building a 6x9 garage this year. The roof is not small. I don’t want this to be a dark closet that you crawl into once every hundred years. There is an idea to make a greenhouse instead of a dark attic that would function both in summer and winter. But I came up against different opinions about the durability and rationality of polycarbonate. Some people say that it will be great, but others say that this thing, polycarbonate (PC), is short-lived.”
Noolegkano
“How will the coating hold snow and what will it say against good hail? I saw its consequences on cellular polycarbonate. I wouldn’t want the roof of the house to look like this.”
According to the greenhouse builder, he chose not ordinary polycarbonate for garden greenhouses, the thickness of which is 4-10 mm. The roof is made of the material chosen for swimming pools, gyms, and tennis courts. Polycarbonate (25 mm), which the forum user chose, has 4 chambers and X-partitions (additional cross-structure). This gives the roof high impact resistance. But the snow doesn’t last long, it slides.
SPK 25 mm Novattro on a cut.
For ventilation, Alexander inserted two balcony doors on each gable. The filling in them is also made of 25 mm cellular polycarbonate. He decided to abandon the ridge vents.
The lower ends of the polycarbonate sheets are covered with punched tape and equipped with a galvanized channel. The element was secured to an aluminum connecting profile with M6 bolts, and the free ends at the edges of the gables were secured with galvanized punched tape to the bolts on the bottom sheathing. To drain water, Alexander drilled channels with a pitch of 300 mm. The filing was covered with a 40 mm plastic sandwich panel.
And to protect the plants in the hot summer, cables were stretched along both slopes, and spandbond curtains were mounted on them with fastenings at the top and bottom. From April to September, the spandbond is stretched, and with the onset of cold weather, Alexander moves the curtains to the gables.
Alexander 0605
“Currently the greenhouse is being tested by abnormal heat for our harsh places. For a couple of weeks the heat reaches +36+38C. In the greenhouse it reaches +40C. Ventilation through gable doors and spandbond shading works great. Plants do not burn or “cook”. All with dense, dark green foliage.”
Design options for a winter garden in apartment design
The best option for placing a winter garden in an apartment building is a balcony or loggia. After all, this is a vacation spot for many, there is also a lot of light, and in warm areas it is also an optimal place for growing many types of flowers. You don’t have to be afraid to open the window; there won’t be any cold air coming in for most of the year.
If you have not been involved in plant growing before, it is better to start with unpretentious annual or fast-growing plants
The loggia allows you to introduce many design ideas, which often has an interesting effect on the results. Common options are to arrange flowers in space mainly along walls and on surfaces. This allows you to place a rocking chair or table in the center and a couple of seats with a blanket, plus each plant will be shaded or lit as much as it needs.
As you gain experience, you can try to grow rarer and more beautiful plants, gradually filling your greenhouse with new residents
It is important to make a winter garden in apartments with panoramic windows; they also provide a lot of natural light and free space. You can arrange the “greenery” vertically or horizontally, or use special stands to decorate the interior. At the same time, there is no limit to your imagination, since there may be enough space for a small pond or aquarium. Together with wicker furniture of wheat or black color, a special atmosphere will be created, distracting from negativity, tension, relaxing not only physically, but also on a mental level.
In apartment conditions, plants are grown in containers - this makes them easier to care for, fertilize and control pests
The home garden is especially beautiful when it blooms all year round. To do this, you should choose plants that bloom in the cold season.
COTTAGE STRUCTURES
Foundation - monolithic strip to a freezing depth (options are possible) Walls - 400 mm foam block, aerated concrete, it is possible to replace it with a 380-440 mm ceramic block without adjusting the design Ceilings - above the underground - prefabricated from reinforced concrete slabs, interfloor - wooden on two monolithic reinforced concrete /beams Roof – warm gable
about the standard designs of houses of the INVAPOLIS© on the page PROJECTS FROM FOAM BLOCKS
Tips and tricks for decorating an apartment using a winter garden
- The space must be prepared before the plants are purchased to create a beautiful design.
- Buy flowers correctly from trusted stores. Many sellers add strong chemicals to pots for long-term preservation. After this, the “greens” quickly die upon arrival home.
- The use of various stands and hangers will create multi-level harmony.
- Plant selection should also be done based on size. Small flowers and large leaves, sharp smooth lines, shapes, shades will produce the effect of diversity. This is how master florists usually work.
- Don't neglect attractive accessories.
You can place the garden with islands, filling non-functional areas in the room space
When choosing palm trees and other tall plants, keep in mind that someday they will touch the ceiling of the room
So, a winter garden in an apartment is a place where people want to come and relax their soul and body, so the eye should not “catch on to anything.” A feeling of peace is promoted by proper design and proper care of the flower corner, maintaining optimal conditions.
When convectors fail
The climate is harsh, so Alexander purchased 4 electric heat guns just in case.
Alexander 0605
“But in case of particularly extreme frosts, I purchased four el. Neoklim PK2 guns. This gun has three operating modes: fan, 1st heating stage 1kW, 2nd heating stage 2kW. I don't use the second stage. Load on each phase, taking into account el. boiler and household appliances will be prohibitive. The gun, similar to a convector, is controlled by a thermostat. I reached the required temperature, the thermostat turned off the heating element, but the fan continued to work. The temperature dropped - the thermostat turned on the heating element. The thermostat on the gun was also set to minimum.”
When frosts hit - 28°C, there was an opportunity to test the guns. And it turned out that the devices heat rooms more efficiently than convectors and disperse heat well throughout the greenhouse. Convectors, according to Alexander, are more suitable for residential premises - a gun in the room creates discomfort due to the effect of a hair dryer.
The user also noted the disadvantages of heat guns. Besides the noise.
Alexander 0605
“The fan runs constantly. When the heating element is turned off, it continues to work. That is, in the daytime, when the sun has risen and heated the greenhouse, the heating element will turn off, but the fan will continue to work. It’s not entirely good when a cannon with the heating element turned off blows cold air over the plants. It's one thing when they are in the cold with still air, another thing when they are in a cold wind. If the heating element has worked continuously for 22 hours, the gun must be forcibly stopped for 2 hours. It's inconvenient to stop the gun. First you need to put it in fan mode. Let it run for 5 minutes so that the heating element cools down and only then turn it off.”
