A floor area set aside specifically for plants, a space for a flower box or a glass gallery are great places for setting up an indoor garden. But there are also solutions for tiny spaces like mini-gardens for coffee tables, including as Zen-style ones featuring sand, gravel and rocks, with nothing green, or sets of trays with herbal seeds that form what amount to small green tapestries.

When you have room for large plants or a considerable amount of different plants, the most important thing is to decide exactly how you are going to use that space; in other words, will that be a place for the family to relax as well, or just for decoration.

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If it is for decoration, or the background for another element of the room, you should set up the plants or single plant keeping mind how it or they will look from the vantage point from which they will be viewed. In the case of arrangements of several plants, it is best to combine different sizes, colors and textures.

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If you are not sure of the final result, it is a good idea to set up the large plant or plants first, then add on little by little. It is usually best to use few plant species so as to avoid the showcase effect. If the space is very large you can use several varieties of the same species, even if the sizes are different.

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You should also avoid mixing bright colors. It is important that the plants have the same requirements of light and atmospheric humidity and, if they are in the same pot, soil type and watering needs.

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Coffee tables or side tables are a good place for medium-size plants such as azaleas and gardenias, or for baskets with plants such as cyclamen and primula. There are also mini-greenhouses that are very decorative and ideal for housing collections of small plants like ferns. An inner windowsill or a double-window are great places for creating a small indoor garden because it will filter light and outdoor views in an efficient and pleasant fashion.

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Plants are also very useful for setting off entrances and hallways, and dividing spaces in large rooms.

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With a bit of imagination, taste and common sense we can create an indoor garden, even a miniature one, that provides a breath of fresh air during the long winter months.