Our living room is bright with plants all winter because we bring summer indoors with push-button sunshine. It all started a year ago when we needed a winter home for the goldfish that lived in our small garden pool.
My handy spouse fitted a frame (made from two-by-fours salvaged when our neighbors rebuilt their attic) into a dark, living-room nook between fireplace and stairway.
We had our local sheet-metal man fit a galvanized iron tank-3’ by 4’ by 1’ foot deep—into this frame.
We then built a low brick wall to conceal it and painted the brick white to match our fireplace.
A few shelves added to the wall above hold my fanciest house plants and cast some shade for the fish in the pool.
Push-Button Sunshine From Cool White Fluorescent Tubes
Our push-button sunshine comes from a 4-foot fixture suspended by chains a foot above the top of the plants on the upper shelf.
Two 40-watt, cool white fluorescent tubes and two 50-watt incandescent bulbs in a reflector substitute for the sun.
We planted oxygenating water plants in small pots and set them in the pool, with gravel over the soil to keep it from muddying the water. A thin layer of gravel on the bottom of the pool adds a natural look.
Three tadpoles and several goldfish came in from the garden pool the first winter. Two salamanders “sun” themselves on a big rock in the center of the tank and pop-eyed black moors and baby catfish cavort underwater.
Evaporation from the pool surface supplies humidity for the plants. The ferns are lush and green, rex begonia leaves no longer dry up on the edges.
A tropical-looking palm, flowering begonias, and waxy-leaved avocado thrive side-by-side in our bright but synthetic daylight.
Maintenance is Simple
We turn the lights on when we get up and turn them off when we go to bed. Once a week, we dip a bucket or two of water from the pool and replace it with fresh water.
Scavengers do any necessary underwater cleaning.
Our youngsters keep daily track of underwater life, and Bob and I enjoy a kind of relaxing therapy as we watch the unhurried, peaceful movement among the plants.
With small cost and little effort, we have a source of endless pleasure.
44659 by Bernice Brilmayer