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When taking care of houseplants became basically my main hobby, I knew I had to start learning more about grow lights. I live in the UK - We don't get a lot of sunlight. Many of the plants I was very interested in have high light needs. But at the beginning it all felt really confusing, overwhelming, and intimidating.

I've since done a lot of reading, and learned a lot. I love sharing that with people and helping them get started with their first proper grow lights. Seeing plants thrive and grow faster than you thought possible, once they're receiving good light, is absolutely the best feeling ever!

We're not going to get into $300 panels, specialist fixtures, etc here. I am keeping it very simple. The main thing you need is a full spectrum LED grow light, and we are going to be focusing on two brands that are reliable, quite widely available, and fairly affordable - SANSI and Barrina.

But first, a warning. Do not get any of this style of lights, with the long wands and often, purple colour. They are very weak and not worth the price. If you already have some, I recommend using the white light setting for plants recommended in my low light guide, or sprouting seedlings, while keeping them literally as close as possible and in the longest timer.

Also, if you want a clear explanation of light measurements, actual units, and light strenght recommendations for different types of plants, I absolutely love this page - However we're not going to get into the numbers here today. It would be a good read after this post if you'd like to know even more though.

We are going to start with SANSI options:

The clip-on SANSI lights were a really great way to get started with grow lights for me. They have their own timer, and they're very versatile. They're available with one, two, three, and four bulbs. They're nice and bright, and kept several succulents happy during the UK winter. The picture at the top of the post shows how I am using mine right now.

I'll say I personally don't love cold white light, and you might struggle to clip them onto thicker surfaces. This is part of the reason why I haven't gotten any more of them.

Another great SANSI option is this standing tripod light.

This is the light I am personally going to upgrade my avocado plant to once it's too tall for its current set up. It is a good fit for taller plants that have high light needs, like fiddle leaf figs and other types of ficus, yucca, or bird of paradise. It also has its own timer.

Moving onto Barrina now, the Barrina T10 is a standing, vertical grow light.

It is good to illuminate a small open shelf like in the picture, but in my opinion it's especially perfect if you want to have a very nice monstera deliciosa. This is a very popular houseplant, but they need a lot of light, and ideally something to climb, or they grow leggy and messy, with small leaves lacking the characteristic fenestrations (those splits and holes in the leaves). I've only recently given mine this light and it's already making a much bigger leaf!

It does not have a built in timer, but it comes with a free mechanical timer. You can set it up and connect it to the plug, and it will automatically repeat the on/off period every day. They do make a faint mechanical noise, so if you're sensitive to that, plan to get a digital plug timer or smart plug. I use digital ones.

Then we have the Barrina options that are best for shelves. If you have the space for it, setting up a plant shelf is really my favourite option.

Here's my first plant shelf as an example, on a built-in shelf.

Here I was using 1ft Barrina T5 lights, installed with the provided sticky magnets.

These are really great lights. They are available in warm white / yellow light, which is my favourite and easier on the eyes. There are 1ft and 2ft versions. You can connect them to each other, and use a timer connected to the plug, but you need to buy that separately.

I'd say they have a medium light output, and ideally plants wouldn't be more than 20cm away from them.

Once I moved to a new house at the beginning of this year, I bought a dedicated shelf, which you saw above. That one is a garage shelf, which works okay and is pretty cheap, but I had to drill them to hang the lights.

The next shelf I got was a wire shelf, which I highly recommend. You can basically just hang the lights using zip ties, which Barrina does provide.

You can see my wire shelf set up here.

I got this one when my chilli pepper plants got way too big for the other shelf. They need a lot of light, so I use the stronger Barrina T8 lights here.

Two of them per shelf should give you excellent results for most houseplants, but I have three for my chilli peppers and succulents. Yellow T8 lights are definitely my favourite! They are really well worth it.

The included reflectors direct the light downwards and shield your eyes from the intense brightness a little, which I really appreciate. They come in a 2ft version or 4ft version, in a pack of 4. You can connect them to each other, and use a timer connected to the plug, but you need to buy that separately.

Speaking of timer plugs, these are the best type to get in my opinion.

Now for some general grow light advice - Never introduce a strong grow light suddenly, or you risk burning your plants. Reduce the intensity, increase the distance, or keep the timer short at first. Then you can build up over a week or two. You could do 6h for the first few days, then 8h, 10h, 12h or even 14h.

Always keep distance from the lights in mind. Even 10cm / 4 inches can really affect how much light your plant is getting, because light decreases very rapidly with distance.

If your shelf is too tall, or some of your plants need more light than others, you can use boxes to raise them closer.

So it was with this desktop greenhouse.

I took it home and after taking an appropriate time to “season” my idea in my mind (read: a month or two) I set to make my vision of a mini botanical garden a reality.

I started by removing the heavy glass panels and building a raised floor above the latch. I wanted to use the base as a foundation on the building.

I wrapped the foundation in plastic stone textured flooring (meant for Christmas villages) and built a pond at one end of the same. I then gave it a more realistic paint job and designed a rough layout for my plants and displays.

I also knew I wanted to make the ironwork significantly more intricate, but I wasn’t sure how just yet…

Up next - PLANTS! I went wild making all kinds of plants. Some were specific species and some were more conceptual.

I made several trees with polymer clay and moss, cacti out of beads and flocking, cattails out of raffia, hot glue and coffee grounds, and giant monstera leaves out of paper and wire.

This part should have taken me a long time, but it really came together fast. I loved finding ways to replicate natural shapes and patterns using bits of this and that.

I did make adjustments to my plans as I went like eliminating benches in favor of a simpler overall design.

Then I needed to fill my pond with water. For this I used resin. Lily pads were added to the top layer, and I wired in simple LED fairy lights. The batteries are kept in the box under the foundation.

In a weekend frenzy I added more plants, metal (paper) steps, new (plexi)glass windows, a roof, wrought-iron vines (paper again), doors that open, and a hose reel disguising the latch. Suddenly, a project I thought would take months was finished…

I love my desktop botanical garden. Right now it sits on a simple lazy Susan in my office. But I’d love to get it a proper display box to protect from dust.

I thought it was a pretty normal thing to suggest, given alocasia can be pretty sensitive and they had theirs right next to a big glass door during winter. Someone who turned out to be a mod started replying to me like I was the weird one for suggesting this??

See, the thing with gardening is that once you hit a certain level, you have more plants than space, and the plants are making more of themselves everyday. So there are gardeners around you that want to give away plants that thrive in your local climate.

You go to a plant swap, and you'll see piles of raspberries, strawberries, irises, and more. You'll see succulents, and seeds, and vegetable seedlings. And you'll go up, and someone will say, 'oh would you like some raspberries? If I have any left by the end they'll have to be composted'. Most of the time you don't even need to have a direct trade, and lots of people explicitly say no trade needed.

Today I got thornless raspberries, white strawberries, walking onions, and someone's coffee plant because I'm a sucker. I gave away rooted fig cuttings, Oregon redwood sorrel, thimbleberries, and tradescantia cuttings.

We don’t have a real tree to decorate this year, so I decorated the only two trees in the house 💚🎄

A Hügelkultur is a raised garden bed made from wood and organic material. The materials are layered into a hill/mound and then topped with soil. It is a permanent structure that, once completed, only requires light annual maintenance.

Above is a photo of my small hugel (don't mind all my weeds).

Benefits

Less need to water: This bed really retains moisture, so much that I find a few mushrooms and fungai growing in it every year. The wood and other materials do a great job absorbing water. Additionally, the shape of the bed allows water to travel downward, toward the sides, preventing excess moisture from accumulating in one area, and watering any plants growing on the sides or at the base.

More planting space: Sun-loving plants can be placed at the top, while more shade-tolerant and water loving plants can be added along the base. Additionally, climbing plants can be planted on the sides of the hugelkultur. If it is tall enough, plants like peas and cucumbers will climb the sides of the bed, eliminating the need for a trellis.

Made entirely of organic materials: This bed can be made entirely from yard waste, lowering the cost of materials and reducing consumption.

Low-energy maintenance: Initially, building this bed was a lot of work, but the following years are generally low maintenance. There is less need to fertilize due to the rich organic matter. I've also noticed that due to the elevated height, I end up pulling fewer weeds than I do in my store-bought raised beds.

Less need to fertilize: The layers of wood, leaf litter, and compost provide ongoing nutrients for plants.

Low-energy harvesting: My hügelkultur is built to be pretty low, but if you build it tall enough, there is less need for bending over to harvest.

Building a Hügelkultur

Materials:

Logs and sticks: This is the base of the structure. The wood will decompose slowly over time, feeding the garden bed. You'll need both larger logs/branches and small to medium sized sticks. Fallen branches and wood from recently cut trees are great. If you don't have enough, ask your local Buy Nothing or other community groups. I didn't have much wood in my yard so this is what I did. People are very eager to give away their yard waste.

Leaf litter and compost: Provides additional, more balanced nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms.

Sod: For nitrogen.

Garden soil: Added last.

Instructions

Lay down your largest logs and branches in your preferred shape and width. There should be very little space in between logs.

Fill the gaps between the logs with leaf litter, then with compost. Pat down firmly.

Lay down the smaller sticks on top. Cover completely with leaf litter, filling all gaps, then add compost. Pat down.

Put down the sod. You are going to have to dig up some grass for this step. Lay the sod grass side down, root/soil side up. If digging the grass isn't possible, you can use lawn clippings instead.

Put down bit more compost and then add a generous layer of garden soil.

If you want a tall garden bed, repeat these steps until it has reached your desired height.

The bed can be as short or as tall as you want. Some people like their Hügelkultur to be steep and resemble a small hill, while I prefer mine relatively short.

Note: Some people will use other materials for their beds, or will arrange the materials a bit differently. For example, some folks might add a layer of rotted hay or feel less need to add so many layers of compost. It all depends on personal preference and what works for you.

What to Plant

Top: Sun-loving crops like tomatoes and peppers.

Sides: Climbing plants like peas, beans, cucumbers, and squash (cucumbers also do very well planted at the top with a trellis). If the bed is tall enough, you can plant your seeds directly on the sides toward the base of the bed, and they will climb up.

Bottom: Kale, Spinach, garlic, onions, root vegetables. It's also a great place to plant perennials. I have rhubarb growing at the base of my hugel.

Maintenance: