Turn your home into a jungle with these indoor plant ideas

By Mandy Allen

Turn your home into a jungle with these indoor plant ideas
Not since the 1970s have indoor plants enjoyed such popularity and it’s little wonder: luscious displays of living greenery are a soothing tonic for the frazzled urban soul.

The bigger our cities get, the more difficult it can become to stay in touch with nature. But you don’t have to have a national park on your doorstep as there’s something magical about filling a room with greenery; and we’re not just talking about their capacity to purify the air.

Just find an area in your home with a smattering of natural light and let your imagination (and the greenery) go wild with some simple ideas.

  • Greenery in small spaces. Construct a cool, contemporary wall in an instant using cheap and cheerful pegboard. Leave your living installation on show in a hallway, bathroom or living room, or give yourself something green and tranquil to look at while sitting at your desk in your home office. Air plants are especially suited to this kind of display.
  • Think outside the pot. You can also decorate with an array of pots and objects that you make yourself. Wrap hardcover books in coloured paper and place these on racks to create shelves for displaying small vessels filled with plants, pebbles and other organic ephemera.
  • Vintage chic. Conjure up the charming atmosphere of a Victorian botanist’s study by displaying greenery in an antique cabinet, vintage shop fitting or other quirky storage unit. For maximum whimsy and nostalgic appeal, apothecary bottles and glass lab beakers make ideal containers. Scour markets for old gardening accessories to include in your collection.

PLANT PROFILE 

Decorative foliage is often better  suited and more adaptable to indoor environments than flowers. Select plants with various shapes, textures, colours and patterns for graphic effect. Group plants the way you would other objects and display them in a living vignette on a tabletop or shelf. Some suggestions:
• Climbing: Philodendron scandens

• Hanging: vanda or cattleya orchids

• Table: staghorn fern, African violet, scandens stem

• Leafy: Blechnum nudum (fishbone fern), Monstera deliciosa

PLANT CARE 

• All plants have general needs but it’s worth checking requirements for the optimal conditions for different species.

• Ask your local nursery for a nutrient feed that’ll keep plants healthy.

• Ensure all pots have proper drainage. A lump of charcoal will keep water sweet and plants happy.

• Potted plants benefit from a mix of indoor and outdoor living. Allow plants that look like they’re past their prime to recover outdoors before moving them back inside.

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