Finding the best houseplants for your home
They provide colour, texture and fresh air – it’s always a good time to fill your home with beautiful houseplants. Here are our suggestions for some leafy additions to your space.
Is there something missing? You’ve got a row of cushions sitting pretty on the sofa, your family photos have pride of place on the sideboard, rows of novels line the shelves, and your favourite pictures hang on the walls.
How about bringing it all to life with a house plant or two. Green is the colour of renewal and optimism; it refreshes us and reminds us of nature. It’s a colour that puts a spring in our step whatever the time of year.
So, while winter is here and our gardens aren't looking their best, give yourself the green light to go to your local florist or garden centre to see their range of indoor plants.
If you want to be really ahead of the game, you can choose house plants that will be happy to move outside in the spring. Herbs are a great candidate for relocation. They’ll inspire you in the kitchen, picking their leaves will give you that MasterChef feeling, add fresh flavour to your cooking and a zizz to your G & T, and they’ll thrive outside when they’ve outgrown their pots and it’s time to move.
Whether it’s Feng Shui, flavourful food or fresh air that you want, indoor planting doesn’t need a garden room or a greenhouse.
Top tip: Small is beautiful and less is more when it comes to inside greenery. A small group of mini succulents will grace a bathroom windowsill, a single tall palm will sit elegantly in the corner of a living room, a delicate Boston fern will soften a home office, and a simple English ivy will trail casually from a shelf.
Credit: @ourhouseatnumber27
To sow the seeds a bit further, we’ve checked out which house plants people recommend, and which are the easiest to look after.
Small and succulent: String of Pearls, Aloe Vera, Cactus, and Zebra Haworthia all work well together.
Large and leafy: Areca Palm, Umbrella Tree, Snake Plant, and Peace Lily. These will make a statement on their own in a living room or a home office.
In between: Asparagus Fern, Boston Fern, Spider Plant. All a great size for a desk or a coffee table.
A recipe for success: Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Mint, Chives and Parsley. The more you snip them, the more they’ll grow.
Off the shelf: Devil’s Ivy, English Ivy, and Burro’s Tail are all trailing plants that like to hang out high up.
Along with a plant comes a pot. You can have fun choosing the shapes, sizes, colours and materials that suit your home and your style as well as measuring up to the needs of your plants. Traditional terracotta, industrial enamel, rustic baskets - the options are endless.
The rule of thumb when you group a set of small plants together is to use the same colour for their containers. Different shapes and sizes work well but to avoid feeling cluttered, a single colour scheme is best. For a large plant, make sure there’s a big enough plant pot saucer to avoid an overflow after watering. Choose a lovely big container as that’ll give it stability too if it’s standing on the floor. You won’t need to re-pot your house plant straightaway, it’ll live quite happily for a while in its original pot and you can simply pop it into the container that you’ve bought to show it off in.
Whatever you end up choosing, the rules for house plants are a bit like our grandmother coming to stay: settle them into a nice warm room, keep them out of direct sunlight, avoid drafts, give them regular food and water but not too much to drink – and the end result is that you’ll really enjoy their company.
SHOWCASE YOUR STYLE
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