Gardenuity sent me a product for inclusion in my holiday gift guide. All opinions are my own.

It seems to me that interest in having house plants has really increased in the last decade or so! I know people who identify as “plant moms” and I don’t think that was a thing when I was a kid! I myself am not that deep into gardening, but I enjoy nurturing a plant or two here or there. There’s something really grounding about helping a plant to grow! Studies have even shown that having at least one plant can assist your mental health! 

My house is really small, so I don’t feel I can give any floor space to plants. Gardenuity has small plants that are perfect for your desk, which they call desk gardens.  Gardenuity actually has a selection of outdoor plants as well, but given that it’s December and snowy here in Michigan, we’ll focus on the indoor options for the holiday season!

I was sent the terrarium desktop garden. This isn’t a true terrarium in that it isn’t a closed container, but it’s inspired by terrariums in that it is a clear-glass container that allows you to see the entire plant, rather than just the part that pokes out of the soil. It also comes with moss that you can use to cover the top of the soil, to create a more terrarium-like look, but the moss is aesthetic, not living. 

When receiving this set, you’ll get three types of plants. Which ones vary. By the way, a cool feature of Gardenuity is that you can put in your location and they’ll make custom suggestions for what you can grow in your area! So the plants that you get sent are based on your region. Which is really cool, that they set you up for success! 

A slight downside to this is, you don’t know which types of plants will be included until they arrive. I used a feature of my iphone camera that lets me take photos of plants and then will tell me what type of plant each one was. I have a cat, so I wanted to check if the plants were pet-friendly. One of the three that I was sent is toxic to cats if eaten, so I opted to plant the two cat-safe plants in the planter provided, and leave it on my desk (which my cat can reach if she wants). The remaining plant that isn’t safe for cats, I put in a smaller planter and put near my kitchen sink because my cat never gets on the kitchen counters so that keeps her safe from that plant. 

The panda pot did not come with this set, the plant in it did. I separated this one out so my cat can’t access it (I only placed it here for photos)

Even though I only opted to plant two of the three plants in the container, I think it looks alright. I opted not to use the moss, as it isn’t really needed and I wasn’t sure I liked the appearance of moss. I’ve had this set for a couple of weeks now, and it’s been pretty easy to upkeep. One of the plants did get a little wilted one day, but I Googled it and realized it must need more water. The instructions said to just put water in the base of the planter for 10-15 minutes once per week, and to spritz the plants daily. Doing that left the soil quite dry, so I’ve moved to actually watering the plant about twice per week and it seems to be thriving. I have found the experience of having to sort of do some trial and error to learn what my plants need most to be enjoyable, though, so I don’t mind that I’ve had to adapt from the initial instructions. 

I think a desk garden from Gardenuity would make a nice gift for anyone interested in having a “plant baby” to take care of. I found it enjoyable to set up. It comes with a bag of soil, the planter, and the plants all separate so you get to assemble it yourself.  Some of Gardenuity’s indoor gardens include microgreens, which can be a great option for people who like gardening and cooking. It’s worth checking out Gardenuity’s whole catalog! 

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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