After months and months of brutally cold weather; Summer is finally here to stay! For those of us in New York City, the arrival of Summer is bittersweet. While we no longer have to worry about bundling up in scarves, hats, boots, and jackets just to walk to the subway, we are now faced with another dilemma: being stuck in the concrete jungle longing for luscious green grass and flowers.

We, over here at EPiC, have a solution to assist you in the summer months ahead! Bring some of Summer's nature to your home or office. There are great variety of plants to consider, but we particularly love herbs, aromatic flowers, and succulents. Here are some design ideas that we love and vendors we love to work with!

Window Boxes

Window boxes are simple to set up and offer the perfect space to add some greenery into your life. We recommend planting flowers to add pops of color to your home of course, basil and mint! Because we know that its not summer until you can indulge in a caprese salad with fresh basil or a mojito with fresh mint picked from your very own window sill garden! Look here to see some more good indoor house plants that not only look beautiful but smell wonderful as well!

Here are some ideas of window boxes that will work in small spaces and apartments:

Source: visit http://www.missmoss.co.za/2013/05/02/kekkila/ for more ideas on how to grow herbs and plants in a small indoor space — *Source: visit* *http://www.missmoss.co.za/2013/05/02/kekkila/* *for more ideas on how to grow herbs and plants in a small indoor space*

*Check out this great idea for small scale herb gardens and more innovational DIY Ikea tricks here: http://www.ikeahackers.net/2012/04/window-herb-garden.html#comment-form*

Photo credit: http://www.gardeningclan.com/ — *Photo credit:* http://www.gardeningclan.com/

Shelf and Desk Decor

For those who do not want to obstruct their windows with planters, there are plenty of other ways to introduce greenery into your apartment. Adorn a bookcase, etagere, or desk with a small scale potted plant such as a succulent or a cactus. These do not require much care, but it is important to take into consideration the location and the amount of sunlight that the plants will have access to. A good resource for these little succulents is The Sill.