half of my apartment garden

thriving mint

If you have too many plants in your apartment does it make you a plant lady? Is that the equivalent of a cat lady?

I thought that my basil was feeling a little cramped and a little under the weather.  (I’m not quite sure where the Florida sun went, but we would really like it back.) Then it started to turn brown at the tips and a tiny piece just broke off and started looking like death.

I panicked.

I didn’t want dead plants on my conscience, so I did some research on basil and deduced that it was, in fact, in need of some sun (who isn’t?), additional drainage, and some wiggle room. With this in mind, off to Home Depot I went. I was supposed to buy a new pot, a rooting hormone and more potting soil.

BUT

I started thinking about how empty the spot where the basil once lived would be and I ended up coming home with a new cilantro plant. While this may seem crazy on the surface, because I now have 9 plants in one room of my apartment, I am actually quite proud of myself. My garlic has sprouted (well, all but one…give the little guy a chance), my mint and jasmine are thriving, my lavender has sprouted dozens of new leaves. Maybe I have a green thumb after all.

I’ll leave you with this awesome marinade from the Apartment Gardender’s Garden

my apartment garden: where jasmine blooms in December

the beginnings of garlic

4 to 6 sprigs of cilantro–chopped

3 diced garlic cloves (or two if you want to tone it down a bit)

1/4 cup of lemon or lime juice

1 to 2 tablespoons of butter (depends on how much you’re watching your weight)

You can put this as a sauce on your rice or mix all of the ingredients together (without cooking garlic) use as a marinade for chicken, beef or veggies.