Dorm Room Gardening

One of the best things a college student can do to improve concentration, study habits, and social atmosphere is to furnish their room with an assortment of plants that would do well with minimal to moderate sun. During my freshman year of college, that's exactly what myself and many of my floor mates ended up doing in order to create a better atmosphere on our floor. Being students at an environmental science and forestry college with eight greenhouses on top of one of our buildings, it was a very easy to fill our floor lounge with plants to a point where it began looking like a greenhouse itself. That lounge contained bamboo, succulents, and other large plants that apparently thrive indoors. Visitors often compared it to a flourishing jungle, although it was far from that. It was a very pleasant place to be and study in though. Every other floor lounge in the residence hall was barren and lifeless compared to ours.

During the late portion of the spring semester, I started a bunch of my own vegetable seeds that I would transplant to my garden back home once summer vacation started. I must've had over fifty peat moss and terra-cotta pots full of soil that would soon become home to an array of nascent plants sitting on my window sill. I had peppers, bamboo, tomatoes, soybeans, basil, and the two jade plants and the coffee plant that I still have today. I cannot begin to describe how much more comfortable my room was, not only to me, but to everyone that visited my room. They were conversation starters from the beginning. People would come in to see how they were doing and, since my room was also a nursery for other peoples' plants, they would often tend to and water them. It was one of the best ways to encourage social interaction, especially at an environmental school. My dorm windowsill garden allowed my room to maintain an atmosphere that encourage learning, sharing, and friendships. We had dozens of study parties, social gatherings, and knowledgeable discussions in my room frequently and I think the plants helped to harbor such activities.

Before I left for school for my freshman year, a neighbor of mine back home told me I'd probably have a miserable time because of troubles adjusting to a new location, higher level classes, huge assignments, and a new social atmosphere. Thanks to my openness, my friendliness, and my desire to meet and interact with new people, that wasn't the case. My plants helped me create bonds with my floor mates based on a common interest. Creating a dorm windowsill garden was one of the best things I think I've ever done. This year (my last year in dorm housing!), I have started yet another dorm windowsill garden containing poppy flowers, my jade plants, and my coffee plant and for the next 22 days (until I leave for home on May 6th) you can see how it's doing on my Folia page. Of course, after that those plants will just be moved to my "Backyard Garden" where you can continue to check up on them, if you're interested.