Inside the Indoor Apothecary I’m Growing—and Maybe You Will Too

Step inside and discover how growing herbs at home can boost your well-being, spark creativity, and bring a little magic into your everyday life.

I’ve always wanted to start a “zine.” I think it started with my obsession over the show Rocket Power when I was a kid. Reggie, one of the main characters, had her own magazine she wrote for all the kids of Ocean Shores—full of “x-tremely exciting stories, activities, and surprises!”

Reggie was probably the coolest girl I knew. Skater, biker, surfer by day, and magazine editor by night. My 9-year-old self wanted to be just like her (and honestly, my 35-year-old self still does).

So here we are. I’m finally making my version of a zine—but with a twist.

I’m not here to publish anything “extreme”. I’m here for the fun, weird, useful side of plants—how tiny green experiments can make our daily lives a little better (or at least more interesting).

Let’s figure out how plants fit into real life—habits, goals, mess, and all.

What you can expect…

Each week will bring discoveries, experiments, and a whole lot of growth—both leafy and personal.

It’s a creative little lab where curiosity, dirt, self-improvement, and mild mayhem all get tossed in the same pot to see what sprouts. We’ll focus on indoor plants, tiny-space gardening, herbal experiments, and practical ideas you can actually use.

I’ll share the plant projects I’m trying, the weird green things I stumble across, the rituals that keep me sane, and the goals I’m chasing (wins, flops, and all the messy middle).

This zine is my sandbox.

You’ll see the progress, the pivots, and the occasional “well… that didn’t go as planned” moment in real time.

Finally, each edition will end with a personal goal I’m working toward and a simple progress tracker, because growth is easier to believe in when you can actually see it happening.

The whole point of TriGardening is to use plants as tools—not just for pretty shelves, but to help us chase the things we want and build a life that actually feels good.

And since doing big goals alone can feel like shouting into the void, I hope you’ll grow your own thing right alongside me—plants, dreams, or whatever you’ve got brewing.

Look out for a new issue drop every Tuesday.

Enough preamble. Let’s open the greenhouse door and step into this week’s feature article.

👉 🌼 Feature: My Indoor Plant Apothecary

Something I have always wanted to do is grow an indoor apothecary. I know, I know…you might ask, how many medicinal plants can someone really grow indoors? Well, quite a few, it turns out!

I made a list of 20 herbs with their medicinal uses I plan to grow.

These are practical herbs - many you can cook with, but most are easy to turn to when certain minor medical issues come up (like when aloe saves me from my cooking burns) or when you need to relax.

I’m not sure where this will lead, but that’s half the fun. For now, here’s the lineup I’ll be working with—my herbal “starter squad”.

My house doesn’t get much natural light, so I’ll be relying on grow lights. If you’re in the same situation, don’t worry—we’ll figure it out together. Grow lights are all over the spectrum (pun intended).

Some are fantastic. Some….not so much. We’ll find the winners as we go.

So far, I’ve had decent success with five plants indoors—aloe, rosemary, thyme, holy basil, and lavender. I’ll be experimenting with the rest over time, dialing in the soil, light, and routine until this apothecary actually earns its name.

Whether this turns out wild or wonderful, I’m excited to see where it goes.

🎥 From the Pot Up (Video Series)

Now that we’ve dreamed it up, let’s actually do something with plants!

At last, I’m thrilled to get this project moving. I genuinely enjoy making videos, and my long-term goal is to provide you with a helpful video every week you can supplement with this “zine”. You’ll find all new videos in this spot right here.

To kick things off, here’s something simple and cozy: How to Make Relaxing Lavender Tea. I made this video a while back, and since the feedback was great, it feels like the perfect first entry in this series.

🪴 Houseplant Shenanigans

Time to lighten things up and make a little plant magic.

Welcome to Houseplant Shenanigans—where we ditch the rules and just have fun with our green companions. From quirky rituals and herbal experiments to creative ways to use your plants for everyday sanity, this section is where curiosity gets messy—in the best way.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about play, presence, and remembering why we fell in love with plants in the first place. 🌿

This week’s experiment is something simple I’ve been doing every day: Fresh Mood Sprigs. (Way less fancy than it sounds, but wildly effective.) I snip fresh sprigs from plants I’m growing—lavender for calm, rosemary for focus, mint for energy—and keep them right beside me while I work.

The picture above even has some lemongrass in it for pep!

Throughout the day, when my brain starts buffering or I feel stress creeping up my spine, I crush a leaf between my fingers and breathe in deeply. Immediate aromatherapy. Instant reset. Zero effort.

It’s a tiny ritual, but honestly? These micro-moments are what keep me grounded enough to tackle the bigger stuff.

To try it yourself: grab a few sprigs, place them in a small dish, and crush as needed. For fall, toss in a cinnamon stick and call it cozy witch energy. 🍂

Keep your little scent bundle on your desk, bedside table, or anywhere you tend to stress-scroll. Next time the day starts feeling like one long Monday, pause and inhale.

Let your plants remind you: you can reset at any moment.

🌿 Offbeat Botanica

Now, let’s step into the strange side of plants—where they bend the rules, flaunt their quirks, and somehow make it look effortless.

Each week in Offbeat Botanica, we celebrate nature’s oddballs: the crooked stems, the drama-prone bloomers, and the quiet rebels thriving in their own way.

Let’s kick off this section with one of the most dramatic weirdos in the plant kingdom: the Black Bat Flower (Tacca chantrieri). Deep purple-black “wings,” trailing whisker-like filaments, and a face that looks like it flew straight out of a gothic fairytale.

Subtle? Absolutely not.

But that’s why it’s perfect for this corner of the zine.

Native to the humid understory of Southeast Asian rainforests, this plant evolved broad, bat-like bracts and impressively long “whiskers” (called bracteoles) that once may have attracted insect pollinators.

Today, though? Plot twist: the Black Bat Flower is actually self-pollinating. Flies still wander in, hoping for a reward, but the flowers give them nothing but disappointment.

Some botanists believe the plant’s bizarre display is evolutionary leftovers from a time when its pollinators existed… but have since gone extinct.

Now, the flower puts on a full goth opera with no real audience, and honestly? That dramatic energy deserves our respect.

Not practical. Not edible. Not easy to grow in your living room. But 100% worth admiring for the theatrics alone.

Five stars. 10/10. Would gawk again.

🎯 Dream Check In

Before we wrap up, here’s where real life meets all this leafy experimentation.

As I mentioned earlier, the whole point of TriGardening is to feel better—so we actually have the energy to chase the things we daydream about. So each week, I’ll share a personal goal I’m working toward, with a simple progress tracker at the end of every issue.

This season? I’m chasing a lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. Green Mountain Flight School here in Vermont welcomed me as a student—and I’m officially in training. Here’s where I’m at so far:

I’m excited (and a little terrified), but sharing it here keeps me accountable. If you’ve got a dream of your own—even a tiny seed of one—I hope you’ll nurture it right alongside me. Step by step, week by week, we’ll grow something worth celebrating.

Alright—deep breath, onward we grow!

Until next week — stay curious, stay growing.
— KC 🌱

P.S. If you take even one tiny step toward your own dream this week, reply and tell me. I’d love to cheer you on.