For many, a big downside of living in a city apartment is not having an outdoor space. IKEA is helping people adapt their four walls into an urban oasis with its new hydroponic gardening kits. The retailer hopes that these soil-free setups will soon be sprouting home-made salads around the world.

Gen Y is embracing gardening, with growing plants and herbs indoors becoming a popular pastime for urban dwellers. Whether to boost wellbeing, bring a sense of calm to urban spaces or simply for its ease of maintenance, gardening is brushing off the soil of its previously stuffy image.

American fashion retailer Anthropologie has launched a line of birch branches, shoppers can buy at home and in store. Despite the high price point, the store has already sold out of branches, reflecting people's desire to bring a part of their natural habitat into their own surroundings.

With Gen Yers squeezing into ever smaller spaces in cities, it may seem like an unlikely time for a gardening boom. But there’s a whole generation of well-heeled and house-proud urbanites looking to make the most of their outdoor areas, and London-based Patch is helping their gardens grow.