The Auk Mini is a Cork-Wrap Herb Garden Brought Indoors

Keeping plants at home has multiple advantages. They’re not only aesthetically appealing – fulfilling the modernist ambition of bringing the outdoors in – they also have health benefits as they naturally filter air. Maintaining a mini Zen garden or plant in the meticulous and contemplative Ikebana tradition is good for mental health. Keeping them alive, however, is another matter. Overwatering or watering too little is a constant struggle as is gauging the right amount of natural light essential for sustenance.

Calibrated for longevity, Auk simplifies everything. Equipped with an adjustable grow LED light, the Auk Mini’s kit of parts yet cohesively contained design is ideal for growing a wide range of plants but is optimized for herbs, a type of food that grows continuously and keeps on giving.

Two indoor herb garden kits with built-in LED grow lights, featuring assorted green herbs in black and white containers on a neutral background.

The system is perfect for compact living: urban dwellings where access to an outdoor garden is most likely impossible. Even with farmers markets more prevalent in cities these days, access to fresh ingredients can be hard to come by. With this device, it can be attained right in one’s kitchen, however small it might be.

Two tabletop indoor planters with built-in LED grow lights hold several pots of herbs on a neutral background.

The Auk Mini is engineered to be easily assembled and operated. No advanced understanding of hydroponics is needed to grow herbs, even small vegetables, sourced from the Norwegian brand’s extensive offering of seeds or even the local garden shop. One doesn’t need to have a green thumb either. An integrated 3-liter water tank dispenses just the right amount of water at the right intervals of time.

A tabletop indoor herb garden with a built-in LED grow light, growing fresh green herbs in a modern white planter against a neutral background.

A countertop indoor garden with four small potted herbs under an LED grow light, set on a white and cork base against a neutral background.

It’s pared back Scandinavian-style basket-shape design – now available in a sustainably sourced Cork Edition – is easy to transport. The material offering, a renewable element source in Portugal, matches the energy efficient light and the product’s recyclable packaging in meeting a better measure of sustainability.

Close-up of a modern planter with green plants, featuring a white plastic container, wooden pole, and a cork base on a neutral background.

A close-up of a modern white and cork device with a round button featuring a leaf symbol, placed on a light-colored surface.

The new Cork Edition embodies what Auk stands for: “natural plants, and natural materials,” says Didrik Dimmen, brand CEO. “Growing your own herbs at home isn’t just good for you, it’s better for the planet, too. Less plastic packaging and waste, and now, another natural aesthetic option to match.”

Two white ceramic pots are placed on a white surface next to a brown cork board, with light and shadow patterns visible on the surface.

A countertop indoor herb garden with four small black pots and an overhead grow light on a minimalist wooden base, set against a neutral background.

A tabletop indoor garden kit with six small black pots of herbs under an adjustable LED grow light on a cork and black base.

Though light and easily handled, the Auk Mini is anything but flimsy. Durability is achieved with its high-quality Norwegian aluminum core. Proportion, weight, and contour were all carefully considered, even in this scaled down version of the larger Auk 1 smart indoor garden variant.

Close-up of black plant pots with green leafy plants, placed on a cork base with a beige background. A power cord is visible near the pots.

Close-up of a modern device with a black matte finish and a cork textured base, featuring a small black lever with white dots.

A hand adjusts a knob on a device with a cork base and black top, supporting a potted plant with green leaves in the background.

A pair of scissors next to a cork board.

Two tabletop indoor herb garden planters with built-in LED grow lights, holding various green herbs, placed on a neutral background.

The Auk Mini Cork Edition is available in White or Black as a bundle, including everything you need to get your garden growing, for $219 at auk.com.

Photography courtesy of Auk.

Adrian Madlener is a Brussels-born, New York-based writer specializing in collectible and sustainable design. With a particular focus on topics that exemplify the best in craft-led experimentation, he’s committed to supporting talents that push the envelope in various disciplines.