So you don’t have any outdoor space. Guess you can’t have a garden then, right? As is obvious if you’ve read the title of this post or looked at the pictures above, the answer is: wrong! Aaron Kominos-Smith has zilcho outdoor space in his 26th floor Dumbo apartment, but he has a west-facing wall of windows, and that’s enough. His plants, which have pretty much the best views plants could ever ask for, include lime, lemon, and orange trees, plus basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, spearmint, parsley, and scallions. The trees he bought as youngsters, but all those herbs are from seed, grown right there in the light of his window. Come take a closer look!

Up top, that’s mint sharing a pot with a delicate sprig of rosemary. Just above, that there’s a huge basil leaf, proof positive that indoor herbs can be happy and healthy and even freakishly productive (in case you were worried).

Think your plants mind bend weirdly toward the light? They probably will, but guess what? You can turn them.

Aaron’s garden inspiration came from his grandfather who had 300 or so tomato plants in his backyard in New Jersey. As you might imagine given that tomato-y heritage, Aaron’s first attempt at an indoor garden involved tomato plants. Sadly, they weren’t such a success (lots of flowers, no fruit. Indoor tomatoes are tough…)  This year, he skipped the tomatoes and went for a whole tower of herbs. As you can see, success!

If you want to try your hand at an indoor garden of your very own, Aaron has a few tips.

• To keep the apartment bug-free, he sterilizes all his soil in the oven before planting anything in it. 200 degrees. Boom. Bug babies neutralized.
• He grows everything from seed for the same reason.
• If you’re wondering if that huge basil leaf is all natural, the answer is yes, nature, and nature-adjacent Miracle Gro Organic Choice Liquid Plant Food.

Thanks for the tour, Aaron!

Tags: Garden Tours, herbs