Gardening is a great activity for seniors. After the years of parenting are behind them, gardening gives seniors something to nurture, care for, and love. It keeps aging hands busy and agile. It can even help relieve stress and reduce the risk for dementia.

While gardening outside is a wonderful way to spend your summer days, it can also be a four-season activity that you enjoy year-round. Maybe you enjoy the way the snow falls on the plants that stick out the winter in your outdoor garden. Or maybe you bring your gardening indoors and start a windowsill garden!

With temperatures dropping and winter looming ever closer, we thought we would share some indoor gardening ideas for seniors to enjoy the pleasure and benefits of gardening all winter long.

5 Ideas for Indoor Gardens

Edible Garden: An edible garden can be the most rewarding indoor garden, because you can actually eat the plants you grow, such as herbs or vegetables. The easiest herbs to grow are dill, basil, cilantro, lavender, parsley, mint, and chives. Use potting mix rather than soil for best results, and choose a sunny windowsill. Herbs only need to be watered occasionally, but you should clip them regularly to encourage growth.

Pizza Garden: If you want an edible garden with a theme, try a pizza garden. A pizza garden has all the ingredients for a pizza growing in it. Plant a Roma tomato in the middle with onions surrounding it and basil around the edge of the pot. When it’s ready, use your fresh ingredients to make a pizza!

Windowsill Flower Garden: Flower gardens are a great choice for an indoor winter garden, because they bring a bit of light and color into your room on overcast winter days. Take a clipping from your community’s garden or a family member’s garden before the summer ends and put it in a jar with about 4 inches of water. Over time, they will start to grow roots! Plant them in a new pot when they’re ready.

Cactus Garden: If you don’t have a green thumb, a cactus garden may be the right choice for you. Indoor cacti only need to be watered sparingly (not even once a week), but they do require a lot of sunshine. Place your cactus next to your sunniest window, where it can get at least 12 hours of light each day. Water when the top of the cactus feels dry to the touch.

Spiller Garden: A spiller garden is one where one of the plants spills out over the rim of the pot. The cascading leaves can be very attractive and fill your living space with green! For best results, in one pot plant one plant that will grow twice as tall as its container, a couple plants that will grow to no more than half the height of the pot, and one “spiller” that will spill out and cascade over the rim. Place on a high shelf to give the spiller room to grow down.

Happy gardening!