This is the time of year when most of us begin to yearn for the outdoors. Those four walls that seemed so cozy in December start feeling a bit too much like permanent detention come February. Venture beyond them, though, and you may not find much to cheer you, especially if you live in the northern latitudes. But if we can't hurry the world beyond our windows into bloom, we can at least alter the interior landscape. Nothing cures a family-wide case of cabin fever--and makes a home more fun to live in--like a little gardening in the great indoors.

So here we offer a handful of projects that are easy to create and care for. Most, in fact, can be put together with materials you probably already have around the house. And because extra space is as rare as roses during these stuck-indoors days, most have been designed to fit snugly on a sunny windowsill. With a little luck, they'll do double duty in the waning weeks of winter, brightening both your home and your family's spirits.

DESERT IN A BOX

Help your kids create their own little patch of desert, even if your climate is more arctic than Arizonan.

POPCORN IN A PICKET PLANTER

If your idea of the perfect garden is a drift of lush greenery nestled inside a picket fence, you don't need to wait till summer to get it. This picket planter with popcorn plants is as easy to make as popcorn itself.

PARADISE FORCED

Pull off a feat of horticultural sleight of hand, by forcing your own shrubs and trees into bloom between one and two months before actual flowering time. Good candidates include pussy willow, flowering quince, and ornamental cherries and pears.