How to liven up a disused fireplace with plants.

Its that time of year again, its warming up and there is just no use for your fireplace. Or maybe like me your chimney is stuffed full of insulation. Every time you look back at your fireplace all you see is a dark black hole pulling your soul out of your eyes to forever wonder the land of the dead, well maybe thats over doing it but its a bit gloomy. Well here is the solution! For however much money you feel like spending on plants and compost you can create a natural scene to take away the summertime blues.
This is my first instructable, sorry for the poor photos comments are much appreciated
Thanks LZ

Step 1 Things you need

1 black binbag

Some plants
choose shade tolerant species as they are not likely to get much light if you plan on a long term decoration. I chose salad cress, a plastic aquarium plant and an unknown flower.

Compost
as much as you need to fill your fireplace

Comments

[vreme]

Cool, you turned the dark gloomy thing into a grave!

[energygeek]

I never thought of putting plants in the firebox. I have been putting in a candelabra with soy candles (less soot than the parafin variety candles) If you live in a real cold climate and the fireplace gets cold too... I suppose you could plug the flue with a chimney balloon to keep the cold air from comming down the chimney and killing the plant.

[canida]

Neat idea! If the plants don't get enough light, you could add a grow light on a timer. The flower is a cyclamen, by the way.

[jokerlz]

Ahh so thats what it is, thanks. A grow light would be clever, and there's some interesting Instructables on plant lighting out there, might be worth a look.

[bustedit]

where do you live? it's december and getting COLDER here in the northern hemi, not warmer.

[jokerlz]

I live in the UK and yes it is getting colder. In my case I can't use my fireplace because its full of insulation. I used a hypothetical summer because I thought thats when most people wouldn't be using their fires and it's always summer somewhere as you mentioned. I said it in a sort of "Imagine the situation" type way sorry to cause any confusion.

[jeff-o]

Neat! We have an unused fireplace in our basement and I've been wondering what to do with it. A small garden with a grow light would work well. The hardest part will be keeping my 15-month-old away from it!